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September 25, 2017
 
 

 

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Angela Merkel Wins Fourth Term as German Chancellor: On Sunday, Angela Merkel won a fourth term as Chancellor, even though her victory was dimmed by the entry of a far-right party–the Alternative for Germany, or AfD–into Parliament for the first time in more than 60 years. The AfD received 13 percent of the vote (nearly three times the 4.7 percent it received in 2013), a significant indication of voter anger over immigration and inequality as support for the two main parties decreased from four years ago.

The results made it clear that far-right populism is alive and well in Europe. They also showed that Germany’s mainstream parties were not immune to the same troubles that have afflicted mainstream parties across Europe, from Italy to France to Britain. The center-left Social Democrats, Merkel’s coalition partners for the last four years, ran a distant second (20.8 percent of the vote compared to 25.7 percent four years ago), and they announced Sunday evening that the party would go into opposition against Merkel’s Christian Democrats. If the Social Democrats become the opposition party it will ensure that the AfD stays on the political sidelines and does not become the country’s official opposition party. The AfD nonetheless vowed to disrupt status quo politics in Germany.

Hurricane Maria Leaves Millions in Puerto Rico Without Water or Power: Days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, millions of people are without power, water, or access to communication across much of the island. Adding to the crisis, a dam is in danger of collapsing. President Trump has pledged federal help for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent several flights and ships with meals, water, and generators to Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands affected. FEMA director Brock Long will visit Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on Monday. Because more than 95 percent of wireless cell sites are currently out of service, residents are unable to contact their loved ones or receive calls from the US mainland. The National Hurricane Center says the storm could impact the US East Coast over the next few days.

 
 

 

You Know It’s Fall When Trump Tweets About Football: When Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president, he pledged to uphold the Constitution of the United States, including its amendments. Supreme Court decisions over many decades have held that the First Amendment protects a multitude of peaceful words and actions. So when National Football League (NFL) members sat out, knelt and linked arms during pre-game national anthems played across the country last weekend and in London on Sunday, no one who says they believe in the Constitution should object to players, and team owners, peacefully demonstrating their views by their actions, right? Apparently it’s not that clear cut. What was started last year by one player who did not stand for the national anthem and took a knee, a gesture that was intended as a protest over police treatment of African-Americans and other minorities, has devolved into a war of tweets by the president calling on football fans to boycott teams that do not discipline players who protest.

The president’s criticisms began on Friday in Alabama when he appeared at a political rally in support of his favored Senate candidate in a special election. (Additional reading: how Trump’s involvement in the Alabama Senate election will test just how powerful Trump is within the Republican party)  Trump suggested any protesting football player was a “son of a bitch” and should lose his job. It ramped up when Trump, who is spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, made a series of comments criticizing players who refuse to stand for the national anthem. “If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast,” Trump tweeted on Sunday morning. “Fire or suspend!” That tweet inspired comments from the NFL community, including Trump supporters and campaign contributors, which prompted Trump to tweet on Sunday afternoon that “Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable,” referring to the Philadelphia Eagles team owner, players, and city police officers who linked arms as a sign of solidarity, while standing during the anthem.

US Military Strikes in Libya for the First Time Since January: On Friday, the US military conducted airstrikes against ISIS fighters in Libya, the first time the North African country has been bombed since President Trump took office. Trump signed off on the operation last week. “In coordination with Libya’s Government of National Accord and aligned forces, U.S. forces conducted six precision airstrikes in Libya against an ISIS desert camp on Friday,” the US Africa Command stated. The strikes killed 17 ISIS militants and destroyed three vehicles at the camp, located about 150 miles southeast of Sirte. The Africa Command also said that ISIS operatives in Libya have been linked to multiple attacks in Europe. While the ISIS presence in Libya has decreased following a US air campaign against the group in the last months of the Obama administration, small groups of ISIS fighters have begun to reconstitute themselves in the country.

 
 

KEEPING OUR EYE ON

 

More Earthquakes Hit Mexico: Southern Mexico was hit by two new earthquakes over the weekend, bringing the total to four so far this month. Saturday morning a magnitude 6.1 quake was centered in Oaxaca state, approximately 275 miles southeast of Mexico City, which is still reeling from the 7.1 quake that hit near there last Tuesday. Then a 4.5 magnitude quake hit Oaxaca Saturday evening. More than 300 people have been reported killed in Tuesday’s quake; nearly 100 reportedly died in the September 8 one.

“The country is located in a highly [seismically] active region, sitting at the boundary of three pieces of the Earth’s crust, called tectonic plates, that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.” The September 19 quake originated on a fault within the Cocos plate, which is on Mexico’s western edge. “Mexico City is especially prone to severe damage because it sits on an ancient lakebed that quivers like jello. When earthquake waves pass through it, it jiggles, magnifying the vibrations.”

Nuclear Tests Have Geological Consequences: North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s sixth test of a nuclear weapon on September 3 may have caused unintended consequences to his own nation. Seismic activity in the form of two earthquakes, both relatively small, occurred Saturday near the North Korean nuclear site Punggye-ri, and scientists are assuming they were caused by geological stress from the September 3rd nuclear test. Seismic activity is often the first indicator of a nuclear test. Analysts were working to determine whether the tremors detected were natural or man-made. The Executive Secretary for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, a watchdog group that works to end nuclear testing worldwide, said “This geographical location is a non-seismically active zone. The September 3 event would have weakened the zone, which could still have further repercussions, such as radioisotopes coming through possible subsequent cracks which would allow scientists to assess what type of materials were used.”

 
 

 

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