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The bill is named after Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black teenager from Mississippi who was murdered in 1955. According to the New York Times, it makes lynching, defined as the harming or killing of an individual by a group for intimidation purposes, punishable by up to 30 years in prison(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

Federal hate crime bill passed and signed by President Biden

By Matthew Kaufman | Mar. 30, 2022

Congress has approved a bill making lynching a federal hate crime, following more than 200 previous attempts over more than 100 years, sending the legislation to be signed into law by President Biden. The bill passed the senate on March 7 with unanimous consent, meaning there was no formal vote on the legislation but no senators objected to its passage, according to the Wall Street Journal. It had previously passed the House with a vote of 422-3, with Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) opposing the measure.

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The agreement made by the UN Environment Assembly is a step towards addressing the issue of plastic waste, but it does not yet require nations to make changes to their current methods of disposing of plastic(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

UN Environment Assembly takes first step towards reducing plastic waste

By Octavia Feliciano | Mar. 30, 2022

175 nations committed to develop a treaty that would address global plastic waste pollution. The agreement was made on March 2,  during the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, NBC reports. "Today marks a triumph by planet earth over single-use plastics," said Inger Andersen, the executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, in a statement reported by NBC. "It is an insurance policy for this generation and future ones, so they may live with plastic and not be doomed by it."

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Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds praises restrictive transgender legislation while other states explore similar measures(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

Iowa Governor signs restrictive Transgender sports bill into law as other states continue to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation

By Andrew Bellows | Mar. 22, 2022

Last year, numerous states passed bills restricting transgender girls from participating in girl’s high school and college sports. Iowa has now joined that long list. According to the Associated Press, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has paraded the bill as a “victory for girls sports.” Reynolds reiterated that this bill would assure a level-playing field and protect girls that play sports.  

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Fighting between Russian and pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces is ongoing across several dozen Ukrainian cities(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

Nations respond to Russian military invasion of Ukraine

By Connor Carlin | Mar. 22, 2022

The international community has been thrown into turmoil since Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Fighting between Russian and pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces is ongoing across several dozen Ukrainian cities. Countries across the world have been reacting to the situation as it unfolds, attempting to navigate perhaps the greatest geopolitical crisis since the end of the Cold War. 

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If the temperature surpasses 2 degrees Celsius, between 800 million and 3 billion people would face chronic water scarcity due to drought, and crop yields would decrease(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

United Nations warns of extreme dangers if climate change is not rapidly addressed

By Aliyah Siddiqui | Mar. 22, 2022

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on Feb. 28 highlighting the dangers of climate change unless rapid measures are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report is part of a series of reports on climate science and follows a report released in Aug. 2021 that examined how human activities heat the planet.  

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As coronavirus cases have dropped across the nation, several states have announced dropping indoor mask mandates in the coming weeks(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

States ease mask mandates as Covid-19 cases decline

By Aliyah Siddiqui | Mar. 15, 2022

As the number of Covid-19 cases has dropped across the nation, several states have announced dropping indoor mask mandates or school mask mandates in the coming weeks, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Illinois, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. 

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One of the first and only studies that have been performed involving illuminated fishing nets creates new opportunities for fishing companies to protect sea life(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt/Graphic Designer).

LED lights have potential in preventing fish net entanglement

By Signal Correspondent | Mar. 8, 2022

Jesse F. Senko, an Arizona State University marine conservation biologist, recently performed a study on attaching green LED lights to fishing nets in gillnet fisheries and how it affects the amount of bycatch, or unwanted aquatic life, that is produced when actively fishing. NPR interviewed Senko about this global ecological issue and how his study affects it.  

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Shocked by the Kremlin’s aggressive maneuvers, countries around the world responded by imposing economic sanctions on Russia. The United States, along with other European nations, are taking economic actions against Russia(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt).

While the West continues Russian sanctions, United States downplays nuclear threat

By Andrew Bellows | Mar. 3, 2022

Russian troops moved into Ukraine on Feb. 24, as part of the largest ground invasion Europe has seen in decades. Shocked by the Kremlin’s aggressive maneuvers, countries around the world responded by imposing economic sanctions on Russia. The United States, along with other European nations, have decided to ban Russian banks from SWIFT, an international trading system that makes trade flow smoothly between countries. Deemed as the ‘financial nuclear bomb,’ the West maintains that the Russian economy will suffer significantly from the new measure. 

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The states allege that Navient, which services 25% of student loans in the U.S., worked with for-profit schools to issue loans to students who could not afford them(Image created by Lauren Schweighardt).

Student Loan Firm Navient Reaches Settlement to Cancel $1.7 Billion in Debt

By Matthew Kaufman | Feb. 23, 2022

Student loan provider Navient agreed in a settlement to wipe out $1.7 billion of debt and provide $95 million in restitution, following allegations from 39 states that it issued predatory and unfair loans to people who could not afford them. The agreement came on Jan. 13. Affected borrowers, totaling over 66,000, will have their loans cleared as a result of the settlement. 350,000 federal borrowers will also receive checks of $260 in restitution, according to the AP.

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Although approximately 97% of soldiers in the Army are vaccinated, the majority of the remaining 3% are mixed with soldiers attempting to be exempt from the vaccine due to religious or medical reasons(Flickr/“Virginia National Guard” by The National Guard, Dec. 31, 2020).

US Army, other branches discharge unvaccinated soldiers

By Hailey Ruane | Feb. 12, 2022

Starting on Feb. 2, soldiers in the Army who are not vaccinated and who do not plan on getting vaccinated began to be discharged. Prior to the Army making this decision, the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps had already gone through the process of discharging unvaccinated members. The Army is the last of these groups to have discharged members over their vaccination statuses, with Politico stating that the number of unvaccinated soldiers reaches over 3,300. 

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Ursula Mitra, a Manhattan birdwatcher told the New York Times, “I’ve been birding Central Park now for at least five years, and frankly I have never seen an eagle hunting on the reservoir except for the past four or five weeks." (Flickr/ "eagle" by Shanna Waller, June 19, 2011).

Bald Eagle “Rover” spotted hunting in Central Park

By Octavia Feliciano | Feb. 10, 2022

Bald eagles are a rare sight in cities, but that may be slowly changing. The New York Times reports that a bald eagle named Rover’s presence in New York City is part of a growing trend of birds of prey settling into urban areas. Rover himself was born to a family of bald eagles residing in another city, New Haven, Connecticut. 

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Stephen G. Breyer, one of the nine Supreme Court Justices, announced his retirement after his term of almost 27 years (Flickr/”Justice Stephen G Breyer” by Cknight70, April 25, 2013).

Justice Breyer announces retirement from Supreme Court

By Hailey Ruane | Feb. 10, 2022

Stephen G. Breyer, one of the nine Supreme Court Justices, announced his retirement after his term of almost 27 years on Jan. 26,  According to Oyez, a website dedicated to archiving the Supreme Court, his career as a Supreme Court Justice began in 1994 when President Bill Clinton had appointed him for the second time after he lost the year prior to then Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  

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According to the New York Times, Ukrainians have conducted individual trainings in which they learn how to shoot and reload a rifle, apply first-aid and identify dangerous bombs and mines(Flickr/ “Ukraine!” by Sara, March 17, 2006).

Ukraine prepares citizens for Russian invasion

By Andrew Bellows | Feb. 10, 2022

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been building over the last few years, but recently the conflict has taken a turn towards war. Russia has gathered an army in preparation for a Ukraine invasion, a move that could change the political landscape of the world. If war comes to fruition, Ukraine’s existence and livelihood could be in peril. 

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Fundraising levels are higher now then at the same point in 2018 or 2020. Breaking funding records has become somewhat routine, with both 2018 and 2020 themselves being the most expensive races in US history(Flickr/“US Election Fever” by Mohamed Nanabhay, Oct. 3, 2008).

Republicans, Democrats already raised $400 million each ahead of 2022 midterms

By Connor Carlin | Feb. 9, 2022

The 2022 midterm election season has officially arrived, and both Republicans and Democrats have already built up war chests of about $400 million each in preparation. Fundraising levels are higher now then at the same point in 2018 or 2020. Given the Democrats’ 50-50 Senate majority, even one gain or loss could determine which party holds the chamber in the next Congress. 

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