Have you been so busy with #WorkForest that you haven’t had any time to keep up with the news? Here are some tidbits from this week to keep you updated and in the know!
So sad. This week we all heard about the mass shooting at the Washington, DC Navy Yard on Monday, September 16th. Gunman Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old civilian contractor for the site, supposedly opened fire at the military worksite and killed 13 people, including himself, while injuring many others. Alexis had a history of misconduct and some severe mental issues as well. He was able to gain entry to the building with a valid ID badge and there were no metal detectors to sense the shotgun he carried. This is yet another example of senseless mass shooting of innocent people.
What are we going to do about it? President Obama spoke on Saturday about the Navy Yard Shooting at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual dinner. He hopes to have another go at gun control policy, considering the lost battle last fall after the Aurora and Newton shootings. It will certainly be an uphill struggle for the president, as no sort of agreement was reached when 20 elementary school children were killed at their school. Today he will meet with the Navy Yard victims’ families and give his condolences.
*Photo from usatoday.com
So, they found something…? The UN finally released their report this week as to whether chemical weapons were used in the August attack that killed Syrian civilians. The report goes along with what the U.S. has been saying since the get-go, that sarin gas was used. Secretary of State, John Kerry, spoke this Thursday about the report, repeating his insistence that chemical weapons were used and the only thing left to do is for the international community to seize them. President Assad admitted that his regime has chemical weapons, but is still insistent that it was not they that used them in the August attack, suggesting that it may have been the rebel forces. Only time will tell if the diplomatic solution plays out and Syrian weapons are controlled by the UN Security Council.
Nairobi, Kenya. On Friday, September 20, attackers dressed in black masks and vests opened fire on an upscale Nairobi mall with guns and grenades. So far, 59 people have been killed and over 175 injured. Over 1,000 people have been rescued from that mall but at least 30 hostages still remain trapped in what is an act of terror. An Islamist militant group based in Somalia, The Shabab, has taken responsibility for the attack, which they claim to be revenge for Kenyan military operations in Somalia. The gunmen were solely targeting non-Muslims, as they told all of the Muslims that were present in the mall that they were free to go. The site of the attack, Westgate Mall, is a newly completed five story facility that has become a symbol of Kenya’s growing prosperity. Several Americans were injured in the attack.
April Fools! This Wednesday, September 18th, the Federal Reserve was expected to have a press release to announce that it would start scaling back its bond-buying program. This program tries to keep down interest rates in order to allow the economy to continue its long recovery. Many Americans have worried that without the Fed’s intervention, harsh economic times may come back upon us.
*Photo from theguardian.com
Welp, no worries there! Chairman Ben Bernanke announced on Wednesday that he would keep on keepin’ on with the current buying rate of $85 billion per month. The Fed didn’t want to start scaling back on the program until they were absolutely sure that the economy was in full recovery. Considering the worries about the impending announcement and recently increased mortgage rates, that day has not yet come.
Tick, tock. On September 30, funding for the federal government will run out and there could be a U.S. Government shutdown if a deal in Congress is not reached. A House Republican idea was to pass a spending bill that would also defund Obamacare, which will be officially implemented in two weeks. Win-win for the GOP, as their number one hatred (Obamacare) would go away and they get to keep working until December. The House passed the bill on Friday, which will now move on to the Democratic-led Senate. I don’t think that they will be so into the idea.
I’ve been waiting for you. And it is finally here, the new iOS7 update for iPhones. People waited patiently this past Wednesday to fill their deepest techy desires when the newest update for Apple products became available. The display is the main thing that changed here, with a brand new fancier look. It’s pretty cool, especially with the new features such as “iTunes Radio” (basically a type of Pandora/Spotify). If anything, at least our alarms aren’t defaulting to Marimba these days. Oh, the torture…