Shape of Water Wins Best Picture at 2018 Oscars

Guillermo del Toro won Best Director at the 90th Academy Awards Ceremony and his film, The Shape of Water, won Best Picture. Other winners from the night include Gary Oldman for Best Actor for his performance as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour and Frances McDormand for Best Actress for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Jordan Peele became the first African-American man ever to win Best Original Screenplay for his horror-comedy Get Out. All in all, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water was the biggest winner of the night, winning itself a total of four Oscars, the most of any film this year. Congratulations, Mr. del Toro.

For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/movies/oscars-2018-highlights-recap.html

Trump Announces New Tariffs

President Trump announced that his administration will be implementing new tariffs on steel and aluminum as soon as next week. Trump stated that the US will impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum in order to help the struggling industries. Trump’s new move is likely to produce negative scrutiny from foreign countries, as well as possibly starting a trade war, of which Donald Trump is in favor of. Donald Trump stated in a tweet “Our Steel and Aluminum industries … have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world. We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer.” Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse said in an interview “Every time [we’ve tried this], American families have suffered. It’s bad policy.” This is still a developing story.

For more information: https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/01/politics/steel-aluminum-trade-trump-chaos/index.html

North Korea Sent Chemical Weapon Parts to Syria

North Korea has reportedly sent ballistic missile and chemical weapons components to Syria in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a draft of a new report authored by U.N. experts. According to the 200 page report, the items include acid-resistant tiles, valves, and thermometers. There’s no exact date on when the deal finalized but it is presumed to have happened back in 2008. “North Korea has a sordid history of supplying rogue states like Syria with weapons of mass destruction technology for cash,” said Andrew C. Weber, a former Pentagon official. “Given its large and growing arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and missile delivery systems, this is extremely dangerous.” The U.N. has not yet released what possible repercussions North Korea or Syria might face

For more information: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589401924/north-korea-reportedly-sending-missile-chemical-weapons-parts-to-syria

Hope Hicks Resigns

White House communications director, Hope Hicks, announces her resignation, the White House confirmed Wednesday. Hicks’s departure is likely to impact Trump severely, due to the fact that she’s been one of his most loyal aides for the past few years. Hicks is among only a handful of aides who worked with Trump at his company, during his unsteady presidential campaign, and all the way to the White House. In a statement about Hicks, Trump said “She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person. I will miss having her by my side.” Hicks won’t leave immediately but she is expected to depart in the next few weeks.

For more information: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/hope-hicks-white-house/index.html

West Virginia Schools Still Closed

There are 680 public schools in the state of West Virginia, and they’re all closed. Teachers from all across the state have formed together to fight for a larger salary. West Virginia is ranked 48th in the nation when it comes to teachers’ salaries. There is a 24-35% difference between the national average salary for a teacher and the average salary for a teacher in West Virginia. Gov. Jim Justice signed legislation giving teachers a pay raise, but educators said it wasn’t enough and that it didn’t address other areas of concern like insurance and health care costs, so they went on strike. This is a developing story.

For more information: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/health/west-virginia-teachers-salaries-trnd/index.html

Businesses Reveal New Gun Restrictions

Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods both took steps to limit their firearm sales. Walmart announced that the chain will only sell guns to people over 21 years of age. Walmart also said that it will cease to sell items resembling assault-style rifles, including children’s toys and air guns. Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that it was immediately putting an end to selling assault-style rifles. The chain also said that it will no longer sell high-capacity magazines and it will require all gun buyers to be at least 21 years of age. Both retailers had among the most impactful actions taken on guns. Both retailers have stated that this was a response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/walmart-and-dicks-major-gun-retailers-will-tighten-rules-on-guns-they-sell.html