A lot has happened in the world over the past week. Let’s catch up on the major news headlines:
Hurricane Francine
Hurricane Francine made landfall on Sept. 11 in Louisiana as a Category 5 hurricane. This storm affected Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Mexico. Parts of Louisiana and Florida received up to 13 inches of rainfall that flooded the area, according to the Weather Channel. In the days following, Alabama’s Moulton and Eufaula also were a foot — or more — underwater. Power outages ran rampant across these states for several days, with nearly 400,000 outages, many of which were from Louisiana’s main energy company: Entergy. According to NOLA, as of late Monday, Sept. 17 most customers have had their energy restored.
Trump faces second assassination attempt
On Sept. 15, former President Donald Trump faced a second “potential” assassination attempt while at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in custody, was found to have camped outside of the gates of the course for 12 hours with his SKS rifle. The Secret Service fired at him before he could shoot the former president, and Routh was between 400 and 500 yards from Trump, who was not in his sight by the time the agent fired at him. Routh has been convicted before, so he faces charges of possessing a firearm illegally.
Mexican legislation reforms: The popular vote
A controversial bill was passed on Sept. 11 ordering all members of the Mexican government — including the Supreme Court — to be voted into office by popular vote, as standard for other elections, such as the presidential elections. President López Obrador, whose term ends in two weeks, considers this a major victory. Obrador and his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, both support this reform and believe it puts more power in the hands of the people.
While the president supports this reform, it has sparked disputes across the country. During the meeting that would determine the outcome of this bill, demonstrators broke into the room calling “The judiciary will not fall.” Additionally, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Norma Piña “warned the proposed model would ‘generate tension between judges’ duty to be independent and impartial and their need to make rulings which are popular in order to attract votes.”
Portugal wildfires
Wildfires erupted across Portugal on Sept. 14 during a hot and dry season. So far, 10,000 hectares (about 2-and-a-half football fields) of forest have been scorched. Officials have closed roadways and railroad lines in order to slow the spread of the fires. There are currently 50 wildfires burning, which has caused an estimated 50 civilian injuries.
As of Sept. 17, seven firefighters have lost their lives fighting the flames. Over 5,300 firefighters continue their work to douse the wildfires.
South Korea adoption laws
Following a recent investigation into the high numbers of Korean babies being adopted overseas, it has been discovered that 20 children between 1985 and 1986 were “forcibly taken to adoption agencies,” reported on Sept. 9. It’s also been found that over 200,000 Korean children have been adopted overseas in the past seven decades or so, although it has slowed since 2010.
The South Korean government is currently amending its legislation surrounding adoptions to confront these issues and to reduce the number of children adopted abroad.
jamabil3@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @josesarmentomatos, Instagram
