By: Daniela Fernandez

On February 5, 2019, President Trump gave his State of the Union Address. The State of the Union Address was originally supposed to be given on January 22, but was canceled because of the government shutdown.

This year’s speech was overshadowed by a series of exchanges between the President and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Their series of exchanges consisted about when he was to give his speech. The President wanted to give his speech on January 29, but Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, made it clear that in order for him to give his speech, he must first be invited by Congress, and then only the Speaker of the House can call for a joint session between the chambers. Finally, they came to an agreement to have his speech after the government reopened according to CNN.

At this year’s State of the Union Address, President Trump discussed immigration, the economy, infrastructure, drug prices, national security, and governance according to CNN.

On the topic of immigration, the President claimed that his petition for the wall is justified because El Paso, Texas used to be a dangerous city with high crime rates, and that now with a wall in place, it has become one of the country’s safest city. According to CNN, who analyzed and reviewed data from the FBI and city law enforcement, while there was high violent crime in El Paso in 1993 it fell long before a wall was built in 2008-2009.

Next, the President discussed the economy. He claimed that there are more people working in the United States than ever before. He also claimed that 157 million are working. Again, according to CNN, who analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics this month, 156,694,000 are working. They also stated that compared to the population percentage, the number of people working is still lower than before the recession.

The President also discussed drug prices. He claimed that drug prices are too high for Americans to pay, and wants to work towards lowering them. He also claimed that because of his administration, drug prices where lower than they had been in 46 years in 2018. CNN analyzed the consumer price index for prescription drugs, and they found that while prices did drop 0.6%, which is that largest drop since 1973, the prices rose 3.2% later that year.

Last, the President discussed National Security. He made many claims on international relations such as reducing support for NATO. He also claimed that ISIS was defeated. While most of their territory was recaptured, they still have control over around 20 square miles according to US Central Command, General Joseph Votel. The President also made a call for international support.

This year’s speech brought a lot of scrutiny by the media, and political analysts, and a lot of controversy.

A government shutdown happens when nonessential government offices can no longer remain open due to lack of funding. The lack of funding usually happens when there is a delay in the approval of the federal budget. The shutdown continues until parties can reach a compromise and a budget bill passes.

The last government shutdown, that began on December 22, 2018, is due to a disagreement, in the budget, for the President’s wall. Congress had offered President Trump $1.7 billion towards building his border wall, but he had a different amount in mind. He asked for $5.7 billion and when he was denied the money, he declared he’d be “proud to shutdown the government for border security.”

This will be the 21st government shut down since first one, after the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act was passed in 1976.

Even though some people probably didn’t even notice the inconvenience of the partial shut down, around 800,000 people lived without income.

When the shut down was announced, I expected to feel effects directly. Since I still saw police and got my mail everyday, I didn’t really think anything had actually changed because of it. But even though our mail still came, this didn’t mean that everything was just fine. Many things stopped running as usual, such as Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA.

Other things that had been affected by the government shut down were:

Airport security

During the shutdown, the airport workers who are responsible for screening passengers and their luggage, were out of work. The number of sick calls continuously rose, and more and more people quit their jobs all together given their lack of an income.

National parks

Some parks were shutdown, and others were still open. Some of the parks that remained open decided on a partial closure due to the fact that they were under staffed.

Public health and science

Inspections of chemical factories, power plants, water treatment plants and other industrial places stopped because the Environmental Protection Agency had to send home most of its employees in charge of inspecting pollution and making sure laws were followed.

Some government research labs had also been shut down, and its researchers were sent home. Funding for the research had been affected by the shut down as well.

Other services have been shut down, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Food inspection and financial aid

The Food and Drug Administration stopped its normal inspections of foods with a high risk of contamination.

Food assistance programs for women, children and Native Americans were still operating on the state level until the funding provided by the federal government runs out. After funds run out it will shut down too until the shutdown is officially over.

The Internal Revenue Service

Most IRS operations stopped. Only 12% of the employees were still working. In an effort to not interfere with annual tax returns, the White House said it would bring back the other IRS employees, but it was unclear if they had the authority to make that happen.

Law enforcement and immigration courts

Many workers from the F.B.I., Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection, Coast Guard, the Secret Service and others, were out of work because of the shut down.

Even though immigration court was backlogged before, after the government announced the shutdown, the courts also shut down. No cases were being moved forward and people will have to continue to wait for their hearing.

With all these services and citizens being affected by the shutdown, it’s sad to think our government let it go on as long as it did. It lasted over a month and people were ready for it to be over.

On January 3rd, there was a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Florida. There were at least eight people injured from this crash and 7 people died. The crash was reported around 3:33pm and it involved two tractor-trailers and a passenger van.

According to FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan, 5 of the victims that died were from the passenger van, and around 59 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled. The injured victims were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital under a trauma alert.

The crash backed up traffic for hours on Interstate 75. A student at Western University, named Nicole Towarek, recalled what she saw by saying, “Black smoke billowed. People were laid out near vehicles, there was long skid marks across the roadway, and emergency workers were just getting to the scene. We kept seeing these little explosions and fire. The heat, it was insane.” A law enforcement helicopter was sent aloft to see if there were any injured victims in the woods, along the crash scene.

The 5 victims from the passenger van were children who were on their way to Disney World according to Riordan. The names were released on January 4th, around 5pm. The children’s names were: Joel Cloud, Jeremiah Warren, Cara Descent, Brieana Descant, and Cierra Bordelan. The van’s driver, Amy Joffrion, was critically injured but survived the crash.

Disney’s spokesperson, Jacquee Wahler, said, “There are no words to convey the sorrow we feel for those involved in yesterday’s tragedy. We extend heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones impacted by this tragic accident.” There were around 7 other children in the car that were injured and taken to the hospital.

The investigation determined that the collisions started around 3:40pm. The northbound tractor-trailer truck, driven by 59 year old Steve Holland, struck the northbound car, driven by Robyn Rattray. Both of the vehicles flew into the guardrail, across the median, and into the southbound lanes where they had struck the passenger van.

Douglas Bolkema was a passenger in the northbound tractor-trailer truck. A spokesperson for a Florida Department of Transportation stated that it was too soon to say whether the guardrail failed or the impact was too great for the barrier when he was asked about the guardrail.

About a week after the crash, the mother of Jeremiah Warren filed a lawsuit at the Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Attorney Joseph Fred found, as he was investigating Holland and Bolkema, that Steve Holland has been receiving traffic citations since 2003, including speeding and careless driving in: Palm Beach County, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia.

In the lawsuit, Fred blames Holland’s employer, Eagle Express Lines and New Prime Inc., and he is also suing Robyn Rattray. Officials at Eagle Express Lines were not immediately available for comment but had stated on their Facebook page that the company was devastated by the crash and will cooperating fully with investigation. They also stated, “Our thoughts and prayers are with families affected by this incident.”

Going into winter break, the government had been shut down. This was the 3rd shutdown of 2018, and it is now continuing into 2019. The main reason for this shutdown is the funding for President Trump’s border wall.

Trump wants $5.7 million dollars to fund the border wall, but it is not being approved. His only solution for this was to shut down the government.

Government shutdowns affect the people of the United States in many ways. Many agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Disease, Department of Defense, and Congress are all affected by this shutdown. Also, people on government aid and welfare will have scaled back benefits.

Luckily, over 150 Veteran Affairs hospitals will stay open along with most national parks (but with no working employees and buildings, such as information and research centers, will be closed).

As of early morning, on January 4th, 2019, House Democrats voted to reopen the government without the funding of the border wall. The bill would reopen funding for 8 closed United States departments. Congress would still keep 9 other departments closed, along with no funding for the wall.

After George H.W. Bush served as the 41st President, he and his wife both suffered from Graves‘ disease. In the early 2000s, he started to have an irregular heartbeat, and started to faint in public, and he would immediately go to the hospital but was released the next day each time.

Bush was diagnosed with a rare form of Parkinson’s called vascular Parkinsonism. Over the years, he has been accused of groping women. His office released a statement saying his Parkinson’s may be the reason of his touching.

Since 2012, Bush was forced to ride a scooter because of his Parkinson’s disease. In 2015, Bush suffered from a neck injury and couldn’t attend Trump’s inauguration. In January of that year, he was in the intensive care unit with a respiratory problem from pneumonia.

On Novermber 30, 2018, Bush died due to his health conditions, at his home in Houston. Bush’s funeral was held on December 5th and all of the former presidents attended, including Donald Trump. Bush was buried next to his wife, Barbara, who died in April of 2018.

When Bush turned 94, he was the only president to live up to that age, but in March 2019, Jimmy Carter will be the oldest living president.

Laura Loomer is a far-right political activist who just got herself spun into yet another controversy.

Her activism has sparked controversy, especially this time when she chained herself to the doors of the Twitter HQ.

She did this after Twitter banned her for calling Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota state representive, “anti-jewish” and part of an oppressive religion.

Loomer had handcuffed herself just a week after her ban while wearing a yellow Jude patch. A police officer used bolt cutters to un-handcuff her, and she was not arrested.

This isn’t the first time she got herself in a controversy. In her senior year at Barry University, she taped a conversation between her and college officials. She was given criminal charges and was suspended from the university for violating the student code of conduct. She has dressed in burqas twice for her activism, and even interrupted two book signings. She went to the trial of Noor Salman with press credentials, which were revoked after she started to harass Salman’s family.

Let’s just hope she doesn’t get herself caught up in anything else.

On November 8th, 2018, another mass shooting occurred at a local college bar in California. There was a total of 12 people that were shot and killed that day.

The gunman responsible for this tragedy was a 28-year-old former Marine, Ian David Long, who went by David Long. He was divorced, with no known children, or owned property. According to investigators, he used to hang around the area of the shooting often. He had a few previous run ins with the law where there was a disturbance at his home. Apparently, he was acting irrational according to police.

David Long reportedly ended his shooting spree by killing himself inside the bar.

The shooting took place at Borderline Bar & Grill, a popular bar in Thousand Oaks, California. The bar is a popular place for local college students. Police say they were surprised that this shooting took place in this city, because it is considered to be one of the safest cities in the United States.

David Long’s friends did not describe him as someone who would commit this horrific crime. One of his high school friends said, “The Ian I knew would not do this.” Another one said, “I don’t know what the hell happened.” All four friends that were interviewed clearly showed that they were surprised it was David.

By: Daniela Fernandez

This year, on November 6th, Midterm elections were held. This year,s election was very crucial to both the Republican and Democratic parties as their fate in who would hold the Senate and House of Representatives in D.C. was at stake.

Now with this year’s election over, the democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives. In this election, the democrats gained 27 seats according to Time Magazine, which gave them the majority of 14 seats

The Senate has 100 seats. This year 35 of the 100 seats were up for election. In the Senate, the Republicans kept control of it. They gained 4 seats, but lost 2 which the democrats took according to CNN. Republicans flipped North Dakota, with Cramer winning, Indiana who had Braun win, and Missouri who saw Hawley win. Also, Florida, after recounts, had Scott win. Democrats flipped Nevada with Rosen winning, and Arizona, who had Sinema winning.

Democrats now hold 47 seats in the Senate, and republicans hold 52 seats. Republicans have had control of the Senate since 2015, when they held 54 seats, and democrats held 44 seats according to the United States Senate website.

In the House of Representatives, democrats hold 232 seats out of 435, and republicans hold 200 seats. This year, all 435 of the House of Representatives seats were up for election. Democrats now have a majority of 14 seats because in order to have majority they need 218 seats. They needed to flip 24 seats in order to gain majority. Democrats previously had 195 seats, and republicans had 236, and there were 4 seats that were empty according to the U.S. House of Representatives Press Gallery.

Republicans lost 36 districts, and democrats flipped 37 districts. With this, now they hold the majority, which they haven’t held since before President Obama’s second year in office which they lost to the republicans. They held 257, and republicans held 178 according to the United States House of Representatives Archives.

There was unexpected news during the week of October 29, when it was reported that a couple died while taking a selfie at Yosemite National Park. The couple’s bodies were discovered after other tourists encountered their empty camera equipment and reported the incident to the staff. It was reported that the park rangers had to use high-powered binoculars to find them.

The bodies were found about 800 ft below Taft Point, and the recovery operation required technical climbing, rappelling techniques, and a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol.

This couple had more than 10,000 Instagram followers. They documented their travels, and they had traveled all over Europe, including to Venice, the leaning tower of Pisa, and at the Vatican.

Yosemite Park spokespearn, Scott Gerdiman had stated that more 10 people have died at Yosemite Park this year.

The couple’s names, Meenakashi Moorthy and Vishnu Viswanath, were revealed a few days after their bodies were retrieved. Moorthy was considered to be a “quirky free spirit” and an “ardent adrenaline junkie” and she had described her husband Vishnu as being “travel obsessed.”

The couple were both born in Indian and had lived in United States for a few years. They attended the College of Engineering, in the Alappuzha district of India’s Kerala state, and graduated together in 2010. One of their professors, Nisha Kuruvilla, had said that both Moorthy and Viswanath were both very good students and had gotten married at a Hindu temple in Kerala in southern India about 4 years ago.

While it is unclear how the couple fell to their death, their social media posts support the conclusion that the couple was taking a selfie which caused the fall.

The couple were known to take dangerous and risky photos. For example, in one photo, Moorthy posed at the edge of the Grand Canyon in a Wonder Woman costume. They did this even though Moorthy had talked multiple times about how fatal and dangerous a selfie can be, and advise her followers to not take those risks.

In one of Moorthy posts, she wrote “A lot of us including yours truly is a fan of daredevilry attempts of standing at the edge of cliff–skyscrapers. But did you know that wind gust can be FATAL? Is our life worth one photo?”

On the day to their death, a few hours earlier, another couple hiked to Taft Point too and were able to snap a photo of Moorthy. It was the last photo of her before she died. Sean Mattheson, the man who took the photo of him and his wife said, “She[Moorthy] was very close to the edge, but it looked like she was enjoying herself. She gave me the willies. There aren’t any railings. I was not going to get that close to the edge. But she seemed comfortable. She didn’t seem like she was in distress or anything.”

A study, published in October, in The Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, said 259 people died taking selfies between October 2011 to November 2017. It was reported that a few of the main causes of selfie deaths included: people drowning, being washed away by waves, falling from a boat, posing in front of a train, falling from high places, or taking pictures with dangerous animals.

By: Vivian S

Starting Monday, October 22, bombs targeting noticeable Democrats were found in the mail. The mail bombs were sent to: Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, George Soros, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Eric Holder, Rep. Maxine Waters, Robert De Niro, James Clapper, Sen. Kamala Harris, and Sen. Cory Booker. A bomb was also sent to CNN, specifically to John Brennan, who is a periodic contributor to CNN.

Federal authorities say that the bombs were real and a danger. So far, 15 bombs have been intercepted.

The suspect is a Florida man named Cesar Sayoc, 56. He was arrested by authorities on October 26, at an auto parts store. He had previously been arrested nine times. He had apparently threatened to blow up Florida Power & Light before when the worker he had called recorded their conversation. He was arrested, and Sayoc pleaded guilty was put on probation. On social media, he was an avid Trump supporter.

Sayoc’s van was covered in Trump-related stickers. One sticker read “CNN Sucks,” and there were targets on pictures of those he disliked, such as Hillary Clinton. Investigators believe that he lived in his van and made the bombs there. Inside there were objects that could be linked to the crime.

He apparently had a list of hundreds he was going to target. It is thought that he was still in the process of sending out bombs and that more might be in the postal system.

Prosecutors have called what he did a domestic terror attack and said that he had been planning this since July. They found that he had created a document, in July, with the return address he used, and that he had searched up Hillary Clinton’s address then as well.

Sayoc is facing five federal charges and up to 48 years in prison. The charges are as follows: illegal mailing of explosives, interstate transportation of an explosive, threats against Presidents and other persons, threatening interstate communications, and assaulting federal officers.

For more information please visit: cnn.com