This week in news: August 28 to September 3 rundown

Published 2016 | Categories: News

tl;dr

UNITED STATES

Hurricane Hermine is expected to cut through Florida and large portions of the east coast. Hawaii faces a threat from Hurricane Lester, along with Hurricane Madeline.

"Hackers based outside the United States have broken into two state election databases in recent weeks... Yahoo reported that the Illinois hacking was more serious, forcing officials to shut down the voter registration system for 10 days in July, while the Arizona intrusion did not appear to be as successful." (Politico)

Louisiana continued to attempt recovery. "The Red Cross has called it the worst storm to hit the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy. When all was said and done, 13 people were killed, 150,000 homes and businesses were damaged, 265,000 children are out of school and more than 100,000 have applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency." (The Hill)

JetBlue completed the first commercial flight from the USA to Cuba since 1961.

Romanian hacker "Guccifer" (real name Marcel Lehel Lazar) was sentenced to 52 months in prison. He's best known today for revealing the existence of Hillary Clinton's private email server. In March 2013 he discovered her emails via a former aide's account.

United States politics

Presidential candidate Donald Trump made an unexpected visit to Mexico in the middle of the week. He spoke with President Enrique Peña Nieto in private before the two held a short press conference. The Mexican president spoke in Spanish for some time, mentioning border issues involving drugs, weapons, and cash coming into Mexico from its northern border. Both men spoke about NAFTA, trade, and mutual respect between Mexico and USA. Trump later gave an immigration policy speech in Arizona, outlining a 10 point plan. The president said Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had both been invited to speak in Mexico City, but Hillary did not accept the invitation.

A new report showed that Hillary used her private email server to email classified information, months after leaving her position as Secretary of State. "The message will be declassified on May 28, 2033, according to markings on the email, which was obtained... through a Freedom of Information Act request." (The Hill)  The FBI released their notes on their investigation into Hillary.

Various things related to Hillary Clinton hit the news this week:

"Former President Bill Clinton’s staff spent taxpayer money subsidizing the Clinton Foundation, an associated business, and Hillary Clinton’s private email server, according to a new report. The funds supplemented the benefits and pay of several foundation aides and purchased some of the organization’s IT equipment, Politico said Thursday." (The Hill) This adds to a long line of criticisms over the Clinton Foundation, including "how politics, diplomacy and philanthropy would periodically converge during [Hillary's] tenure as secretary of state..." (WSJ)

middle east

"The US military called for an end to clashes between Turkey, Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters as the NATO ally pushed deeper into Syria, bringing the diverging priorities of the various American allies into stark relief." (Vice)

"The United States and its negotiating partners agreed 'in secret' to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year's landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions...." (Reuters)

"At least 60 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing at a military facility in the southern Yemen city of Aden, doctors say. A training camp, or compound used by the pro-government Popular Resistance militia, was hit," (BBC) ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

south america

The Brazilian Senate voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff from office. Michel Temer became the 37th president of Brazil. Soon after he addressed the nation in a televised speech, some pro-Rousseff riots broke out.

"Commander of Colombia's FARC rebel group announces a permanent cease-fire under peace accord." (AP)

science, technology, environment

"Samsung to recall Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, following reports of the phone catching fire while charging" (WSJ)

"The federal government Friday banned more than a dozen chemicals long-used in antibacterial soaps, saying manufacturers failed to show they are safe and kill germs." (AP)

Youtube implemented a new policy where monetization of videos is now dependent on content being "advertiser-friendly." Videos which contain "controversial or sensitive subjects...  even if graphic imagery is not shown" will no longer be allowed to make ad revenue. A large number of Youtube creators have spoken out against this change, including some with millions of subscribers. Some said there isn't any reason to panic. However, it seems Youtube is also targeting videos on topics like suicide prevention, which could impact charities. #YouTubeIsOverParty was the number one trending hashtag on Twitter at one point.

"Ireland should recover up to €13bn (£11bn) from Apple in back taxes, the European Commission has ruled. After a three-year investigation, it has concluded that the US firm's Irish tax benefits are illegal. The Commission said Ireland enabled the company to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of no more than 1%." (BBC)

"Pope Francis on Thursday proposed that caring for the environment be added to the traditional seven works of mercy that Christians are called to perform, taking his green agenda to a new level by supplementing Jesus' Gospel call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick. Francis made the ambitious proposal in a message to mark the church's World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which he instituted last year in a bid to highlight his ecological concerns." (AP)

"The Norwegian government says 323 reindeer were apparently struck by lightning last week and died." (NPR)

"In a newly melted part of Greenland, Australian scientists find what they think is the oldest fossil on Earth, a remnant of life from 3.7 billion years ago." (AP)

 


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