On March 14th, Somali pirates hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Somalia. According to The Guardian this is the first hijacking of a large ship since 2012, and many local fishermen say this was a direct cause from the recent amount of foreign presence in Somalia. This hijacking has been the first takeover of a big ship in 5 whole years of peace.

The Guardian says they have interviewed elders and heard what they had to say about the hijacking. The elders said that the hijackers had been frustrated with the foreign fisherman recently, and said that the foreign fishermen had been illegally fishing in local waters and killing or catching all the fish either for game, or fun, instead of eating.

This sparked some conflict between the two groups of fishermen, and led to a few territorial issues. With the foreign fishermen excited and wanting to fish more and more of the exotic animals, they ruined the fishing for the local fishermen. This made the locals mad and they became frustrated, and this frustration eventually lead to the hijacking of the oil tanker.

A couple days after the hijacking, the oil tanker was released, with its crew, without any conditions. The release occurred after local elders and officials opened negotiations with the pirates. Somali pirates usually hijack ships and crew members for ransom, and generally do not kill their hostages.

According to The Guardian, the Puntland Maritime Police Force made an offer the Somali pirates couldn’t refuse, and they left the oil tanker and crew unscathed. The hijackers were also told that the oil tanker was from a Somali trader, and the hijackers no longer had any interest in the ransom money. The hijackers told the authorities that they only seized the ship because they wanted to protest about illegal fishing in the area that the foreign fishermen were doing in their waters.

American rapper, Snoop Dogg, has released his most recent music video, “Lavender,” which includes a very controversial scene. The scene opens up with a close-up of a clown, with characteristics that resemble America’s President, Donald Trump.

As the camera zooms out, the viewer can see Snoop Dogg pointing a toy gun at the clown. Snoop Dogg, notorious for doing what he likes, like many modern day musical artists, pulls the trigger and the gun releases a “Bang” flag.

The music video has received over 4 million views, in three days, since it was released on Monday, March 13, 2017. Many Snoop Dogg fans have defended his artistic approach, regarding it as freedom of speech, telling Trump supporters to be “less sensitive.” Billybluedog on Youtube commented, “I was more offended by the stance that republicans took over Obama’s 8 years in office, blocking everything he attempted to provide for Americans. Trump governing is by empowering his base by division. Not unity. His speech’s are directed to his follower’s only, and not the rest of America’s society. He thinks that divide and conquer will empower his leadership. He is mistaken… It will only create more videos, and late night comedy sketch’s like the one’s we are seeing… so sad…”

In an interview with Billboard, Dogg defends his move, saying, “Nobody’s dealing with the real issue with this ******* clown as president, and the **** that we dealing with out here, so I wanted to take time out to push pause on a party record and make one of these records for the time being.”

In response to the video by Snoop Dogg, Trump tweeted early in the morning on March 15, 2017, “Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail Time!”

Trump’s “personal lawyer,” Michael Cohen, says Snoop Dogg owes his client an apology. Back in January of 2016, Trump, however, made a similar statement when he was speaking to a crowd of supporters in Iowa. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” If Barack Obama had said that, an immediate apology would have been demanded, and he would possibly not have become the President of the United States.

At this time, Snoop Dogg has yet to respond to the President.

In London, there is a new idea on how to remember your loved ones. It is an eco friendly way to be remembered after death. This new method is called the Urban Death Project and it is on the rise in urban cities like Seattle and London.

The Urban Death Project is a way of recycling the dead by burying the bodies in soil and woodchips for a few weeks. According to the Urban Death Project team, it is a safe, eco friendly way of remembering the dead. The team also said, “The soil will only be used to nourish gardens and trees on site,” which answers a big question of whether or not the soil would be used to grow food. When they say “on site” they mean that there will be a half-public park/half-funeral home that you can go to and enjoy with your family.

This idea was started on Kickstarter, which everyone thought was a joke at first, but then later on realized that it was an actual thought out idea with plans. The Urban Death Project team also says that the process is open to all religions, and has set up space for prayers, gatherings, and mournings of all types. The team says they have also talked with various religious leaders, and have received confirmation that this way of burial is completely okay with them and their religions.

The Urban Death Project team has their own website: http://www.urbandeathproject.org/ where they will answer questions and talk more in depth about their project. On the forums the team has created, is a question and answer section where they will answer any questions concerning the topic. If you have any questions that you would like to ask them, you can ask them on their webpage and click on the FAQ section.

Although this new idea is a good way for burial, and death, there is still controversy on where they would put these sites, or how many sites there would be, in one city or state.

On February 15th, the Democrats finally scored a small victory against the Trump administration. This was the withdrawal of Andrew Puzder for his bid as secretary of labor; a bid that had garnered much controversy since the announcement. Ostensibly, the withdrawal was so he could “spend more time with his family,” but it was almost certainly because he and others in the administration felt he wouldn’t be confirmed by the Senate*.

Puzder, owner of the fast-food restaurants Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., was one of the most controversial nominees, along with Betsy DeVos and Rex Tillerson. For example, his opposition of the current, or indeed any, minimum wage practically incited riots on the left, and alienated many on the right. His opposition of rules that forced certain employees to be paid more for overtime also caused controversy, especially after it became widely known that his companies had been forced to pay 20 million dollars in lawsuits for violating these rules.

Despite the controversy surrounding his positions, he might have made it through – after all, Betsy DeVos and Rex Tillerson did, despite huge controversy surrounding them. However, the nail in his political coffin came when it came to light that he employed undocumented immigrants as maids in his house. Not only is this illegal, but it stands in contrast to much of the Republican platform, and because of this, it became impossible to get the votes needed for a confirmation. In addition, old accusations of spousal abuse hurt his image further, effectively sealing his fate.

Shortly after the withdrawal (during the same press conference where Trump thrice asserted he was not “ranting and raving”) the administration announced their new pick – Alexander Acosta, sitting Dean of Florida International University College of Law, and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights. So far, Acosta’s nomination has drawn far less criticism, and it looks like he should be confirmed with support from both sides.

*Puzder did later acknowledge that both accusations of spousal abuse and his employment of undocumented immigrants played a role in his withdrawal.