Annual G20 Summit goes down under 

Over the course of last week, an international forum of the world’s largest, most advanced economies met in Brisbane, Australia for the annual G20-summit. G20 represents over two-thirds of the world’s population, 85 percent of global gross domestic product and over 75 percent of global trade. Some of the group’s premier countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, India, Russia, China, Republic of Korea, and South Africa, to name a few.

This year, tensions filled the air as global leaders greeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Many of the leaders only had few cool, collected words for Putin.

“I guess I’ll shake your hand but I’ll only have one thing to say to you–get out of Ukraine,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in greeting to Putin.

Despite such tensions, the summit was ultimately productive. With a goal to boost the global economy by more than $2 trillion, the global domestic gross domestic product could increase by 2.1 percent by 2018.

Creating millions of new jobs across the globe is only one of G20 several hundred reforms that will be put in place to achieve such an economic boost.

For further information regarding the 2014 G20-summit, see http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/16/world/g20-leaders-mixed-fortunes/index.html?hpt=hp_t2.

ISIS possibly at peak

As the US and other opposing forces put pressure on ISIS, the terror group is beginning to struggle and act extremely harshly as a sign of desperation. Analysts say that, unfortunately, similar to the brutal death of Hostage Peter Kassig, many more beheadings will occur as ISIS attempts to intimidate others and display their power.

“As we see the U.S. and the coalition making gains against ISIL, we will find that they try and show that they are still strong, try and show that they are just as barbaric as they have been, and unfortunately one of the things we’ll see is that the videos will become more and more barbaric,” said Haras Rafiq of the Quiliam Foundation in an interview with CNN.

While the deaths of so many hostages are undeniably frightening and gruesome, US and other countries are certainly making gains against the terrorist group, and perhaps, the death of Kassig and series of similar barbaric murders that are predicted to come show that ISIS has truly reached its peak. A new phase of the fight against ISIS consists of Iraqi ground troops and will hopefully spark the terror group’s downfall.

For more information on ISIS and it’s proposed ‘peak,’ see http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/16/world/meast/isis-beheading-analysis/index.html?hpt=wo_c1.

Pope to visit Philly in 2015

Mayor Michael Nutter calls it “the largest event in [Philadelphia’s] modern history, and hotels are already booked to their limits. During a news conference on Monday, November 17th, Pope Francis confirmed his rumored visit to Philadelphia next September for an event that will be known as the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

The week long event will be huge, consisting of various celebrations, activities, and conventions. From September 22nd to the 25th, approximately fifteen thousand people will gather at the Philadelphia Convention center for the family’s congress. This will be the biggest convention in Philadelphia in 2015, consisting of discussion based track for adults, and a hands on track for children and teenagers.

Then, on the 26th, the Pope will publically attend the “Festival of Families,” a cultural celebration that could potentially draw up to 800 thousand people.

“Philadelphia will shine and put its best foot forward. People will see the city that we all love at its very best,” said Gerald Davis in an interview with CatholicPhilly.com. Davis has prayed to Mary and Jesus for a visit from the Pope Francis since his election in the Vatican in 2013. “I felt like it was going to happen. It’s going to take a lot of work to make this a success. We need all hands on deck, and I am confident, with God’s grace, we will make it.”

Deadly snows bury Buffalo

Records are being shattered in Buffalo, NY as a year’s worth of snow buries the city; there are already six feet of snow on the ground, and several more feet are to come.

The storm has already claimed at least ten lives, and it has trapped countless people in their homes. Abandoned cars in the streets are almost completely buried, and roofs and walls of various buildings and facilities are struggling under the weight of the snow. Many debate whether the Buffalo blizzard is a cold foreshadowing of a harsh winter to come.

“Snow is extremely hard to predict, so there is no reason to believe that we should see an exceptional season at this time,” says Daniel J. Leathers, a professor from the University of Delaware. However, some Accuweather expert meteorologists claim that we are in for an above-average amounts of snowfall.

Regardless of the predicted snowfall, meteorologists agree that this winter will be colder than average, so grab your hats and gloves and bundle up as December approaches.

Obama on immigration

A system that has been broken for ages, immigration is now under the executive authority of President Obama. The president plans to shield five million undocumented immigrants in the United States and prioritize the deportation of “felons, not families.”

Rather than focusing on the deportation of undocumented men and women who are the parents of US citizens and residents, immigration authorities will now put forth their full effort towards gang members, suspected terrorists and other felons.

Immigrants who meet qualifications decided by President Obama will receive the opportunity to stay in the United States for three years if they pass a background check and pay taxes. However, they will not be eligible for health care programs or federal benefits.

Many Republicans believe that Obama is exploiting his power; some have even claimed he is acting like a king because of his executive action regarding the topic of immigration. However, others say that even though his actions are very aggressive, they perfectly abide by the law and Constitution.

For more information about the new immigration policies, see http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/politics/obama-immigration-speech/index.html?hpt=hp_t1.

Cosby allegations cast shadow on comedy icon

As of November 18th, supermodel Janice Dickinson has been the fifteenth woman to claim she was sexually abused by Bill Cosby. It seems that every day, new allegations tarnish the reputation of the beloved dad from The Cosby Show.

In 2005, Cosby was accused of sexual assault by Andrea Constand, the director of the women’s basketball team at Temple University. Many women offered to testify Constand’s case, claiming they had similar experiences with Cosby over the past few decades. However, with a lack of social media at the time of Constand’s allegations, the public was not aware of the situations.

The recent accusations all began last week after Barbara Bowman, now 47, claimed that Cosby allegedly drugged and raped her back in her teen modeling years in a Washington Post article. When her story went viral, many other women began to throw allegations at Cosby.

“I was afraid of being labeled a whore or a slut and trying to sleep my way to the top of a career that never took place,” said Dickinson when asked why she didn’t bring up her sexual assault years ago when it took place.

Most of Cosby’s victims have similar thoughts regarding the situation. Cosby was an extremely popular figure in the late 1900s, and it was nearly impossible for these women to overstate his fame.

Now, it is unknown whether Cosby will suffer legal punishment. However, he still faces other punishments from the TV series and the public. For instance, Netflix is postponing the release of Cosby’s most recent comic standup, Bill Cosby 77. In addition, NBC has scrapped a sitcom featuring Mr. Cosby. Even if Cosby is not legally punished for his alleged actions, his fame is certainly at risk nevertheless.