NewsHero (beta) Weekend Update
October 19, 2019 Issue 2
Welcome to this edition of NewsHero beta for October 19, 2019. Thank you for joining us.
Weekly Brief
This week the ACLU filed a lawsuit for separated immigrant families. The federal suit filed Thursday seeks what could be millions of dollars in damages on behalf of thousands of immigrant families separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill last week that bans for-profit prisons and immigrant detention facilities from operating in California.
Two researchers from MIT and a third from Harvard University won the 2019 Nobel Prize in economics on Monday for groundbreaking research in the fight to reduce global poverty. 46-year-old Esther Duflo is the youngest person ever to win the prize and only the second woman.
Investigators tracked a Bitcoin trail of cryptocurrency transactions that led to the takedown of a massive child pornography site on the dark web.
Hundreds of scientists declared support for Extinction Rebellion, saying the need for governments to act on man-made climate change is too urgent to keep quiet.
After imposing a total communications blackout two months ago, India has partially restored mobile phone connections to roughly eight million people in the Kashmir Valley.
When a Florida man learned that more than 400 students in his area couldn't afford school lunches, Andrew Levy paid off the lunch debt for all nine schools; “Children shouldn’t learn hungry,” he said.
Two NASA astronauts underwent the first all-female spacewalk on Friday. Christina Koch and Jessica Meir stepped outside the International Space Station to replace a faulty device.
Democrat Elijah Cummings, veteran Baltimore congressman, civil rights icon and key figure in the Trump impeachment inquiry, has died at the age of 68 following a long period of ill health.
China will take countermeasures against the U.S. in response to the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday that shows support for Hong Kong following four months of protests in the city. The bill addresses whether recent political developments in Hong Kong require the U.S. to change its special trading status. Exports from mainland China traveling through Hong Kong can potentially evade U.S. export controls and sanctions. Also, amid the ongoing trade war, the U.S. and China announced the first phase of a trade deal that would see Beijing raise its agricultural purchases to as much as $50 billion.
Humanitarian Groups Struggle To Aid Displaced Syrians
As more flee fighting, reaching those in need becomes increasingly difficult
A Syrian woman with her children, who are newly displaced by the Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria, receives a tent from a Kurdish humanitarian worker on Oct. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
With battle lines quickly shifting, aid groups in northeastern Syria struggle to reach the more than 160,000 fleeing the fighting. The withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria has allowed Turkey and Russia to move in and displace Kurdish allies.
Sonia Khush, the Syria response director at Save the Children, said the camp in which it was operating is “nearly empty,” while the majority of the aid group’s local staff have themselves been displaced. “We have to leave as the battle lines change,” Khush said.
While many charities have announced plans to evacuate, others remain in Syria helping in displacement camps.
Though most of the displacement has been within northern Syria, many refugees have crossed into Iraq. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, 1,006 people had arrived in Iraq since hostilities began October 9. “We expect more and more in the coming days,” spokesman Tom Peyre-Costa said. “Winter is coming, and with harsh conditions in Syria, displaced people will be more and more likely pushed to migrate towards Iraq, where they can seek shelter.”
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday terms of a cease-fire agreement aimed at ending the violence between Turkey and Kurdish forces. The announcement came following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Via Twitter President Trump hailed Thursday as “a great day for civilization.”
Friday morning however journalists from the Associated Press reported continued fighting. Shelling and visible smoke were reported in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, while calm appeared to remain elsewhere. It's been said that Turkey may see the cease-fire agreement as merely a pause.
Amidst the talks, officials have reportedly warned that an estimated 50 U.S. nuclear bombs are effectively being held hostage in Turkey. There are worries that removing the bombs might trigger an end to relations between the NATO allies, while leaving them would put the weapons at risk.
New Insights Continue In Trump Impeachment Inquiry
Democrats hold off on vote, Mulvaney confirms quid pro quo, Perry resigns
Credit: @SpeakerPelosi (Twitter), @realDonaldTrump (Twitter) & White House Photographer
As more witnesses are deposed and new information is revealed regarding Donald Trump and dealings with Ukraine, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders will hold off on a full House vote authorizing an impeachment inquiry. The decision could however be "reassessed at some point,” Democratic leadership sources warn.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said that the Trump administration indeed pressured Ukraine to investigate political rivals, withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. This is key to the Democrats argument for impeachment, while Republicans have long denied it. Mulvaney later claimed he’d not admitted the quid pro quo maneuver.
Meanwhile U.S. ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland testified before House investigators Thursday. During his nearly nine-hour testimony, Sondland said Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was pushing Ukraine to probe political rivals. “Mr. Giuliani emphasized that the president wanted a public statement from President Zelensky committing Ukraine to look into anti-corruption issues,” Sondland said.
Before being fired last month by Donald Trump, then-National Security Adviser John Bolton expressed concern over Giuliani, calling him a "hand grenade" on Ukraine. Giuliani and Vice President Mike Pence have said they will not cooperate with the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who had recently been ordered to produce any documents pertaining to Ukraine and the impeachment inquiry, will be leaving his position at the end of the year. The news came Thursday night following Trump’s announcement at a campaign rally. Perry “couldn’t have done a better job,” Trump said at the Texas rally, “and he’s going to be leaving at the end of the year, and probably coming back here.”
NewsHero Editorial
I wrote the script for this cartoon in response to the naming of mass shooters by news outlets in August of 2019 and published the following on Medium. "These gunmen want headlines. They want powerful people to talk about them. They want to be remembered where they would otherwise be forgotten. They see themselves as a nobody and they want to be somebody. By putting a spotlight on the number of dead and wounded, and by putting their names in bold print on front pages, they are made heroes to those who will follow them. These killers are not heroes. Do not share their victories. Do not help create more like them. Benji — Co-founder of NewsHero."
Art by Mark Minnig
For more see: A New Year's Resolution for the Media: Stop Making Mass Shooters by James D. Diamond and also https://nonotoriety.com and https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
Nigerian Police Rescue More Than 60 From Abusive School
President of Nigeria orders disbanding of centers practicing maltreatment
People with chained legs are pictured after being rescued by police in Nigeria (Reuters)
In northern Nigeria 67 men and boys were freed by police from an Islamic school said to have been keeping the students “shackled with chains” and enduring “various inhuman and degrading treatments.” The students ranged in ages seven to 40. This is the second time in weeks authorities have conducted such a raid, with more than 300 male students rescued last month from a school in a neighboring state.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to put an end to the abusive institutions. A spokesperson said, “Mr. President has directed the police to disband all such centers and all the inmates be handed over to their parents.”
Claiming the school used teaching as a cover for the mistreatment, student Lawal Ahmed told Reuters, “Beating, abusing and punishment, this is what they always did to us here.” Parents often enroll their children in these types of boarding schools in an attempt to curb unruly behavior.
Police said the owner of the facility and two teachers were arrested. Many of the 67 inmates were taken to a hospital for treatment.
US Says Cyberattack Carried Out On Iran
Following strike on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, US claims secret cyber operation
Illustrative: A cybersecurity expert stands in front of a map of Iran as he speaks to journalists about the techniques of Iranian hacking, September 20, 2017, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
The United States reportedly hit Iran with a secret cyber operation following the September 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters the operation was carried out in late September and aimed to cut Tehran’s ability to spread “propaganda.” The strike reportedly targeted physical hardware, but no further details were given.
When asked about the cyberattack reports, Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said, “They must have dreamt it.”
The U.S., Saudi Arabia, Britain, France, and Germany have blamed Iran for the September 14 strike, which denied any involvement. The Houthi militant group in Yemen claimed responsibility.
The Pentagon declined to comment about the cyberattack. “As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence, or planning,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Elissa Smith.
Brexit Deal Reached, Johnson Still Needs Parliament Support
Fears of violence in Northern Ireland feature in agreement talks
Image: Sky News
The EU and Britain agreed on a Brexit deal Thursday, though Prime Minister Boris Johnson must now face British Parliament in a struggle to garner enough votes for his plan, following three turbulent years of debate.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Johnson told reporters the agreement "represents a very good deal for both the EU and U.K.” and that he hoped lawmakers would "come together to get Brexit done, to get this excellent deal over the line.”
Shortly after the announcement in Brussels, Johnson’s Northern Irish allies said they would not vote for the deal when it is put to the House of Commons on Saturday. Under the terms of the agreement, Northern Ireland would remain legally part of U.K. customs territory, but would stay closely aligned with European rules and regulations, involving customs checks between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Worries of a return to violence in Northern Ireland have been a major hurdle for EU and U.K. officials trying to reach a deal. More than 3,500 people have been killed in Northern Ireland over the past three decades, and many lawmakers say they won’t vote for the deal over the Irish border issue.
Securing and monitoring the Irish border in an effort to thwart fraud and smuggling could exacerbate tensions between those who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the U.K. and those who want it to be reunited with the Republic of Ireland.
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