Saturday, May 21, 2016

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 15-21, 2016

MAY IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!
MAY 21st IS NAVY DAY IN CHILE.
MAY 22nd IS INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DAY.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...
*Egypt Air Flight 804 with 66 people on board, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in route from Paris to Cairo. Still in the early stages of the search and rescue as well as the investigative operations, survivors remain unknown and terrorism has yet to be ruled out as the cause of the crash.
*While it has yet to officially become law, the United States' Senate passed legislation that would allow victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages from Saudi Arabia, despite Saudi threats to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.
*Because of growing concerns over North Korea; South Korea, Japan, and the United States will hold their very first joint anti-missile exercise sometime in June.
*Bayer would like to merge with Monsanto! Approval for the transaction is pending.
*The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang and translated into English by Deborah Smith, has won the Man Booker International Prize.
*Max Verstappen has won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, making him the youngest (at 18) competitor to do so.

TERRIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITIES...
*While bombs of various styles (suicide and otherwise) were the weapon of choice again this past week, authorities are beginning to suspect ISIS/ISIL forces have added chemical weapons (mustard gas and chlorine) to their arsenal.
*Internal fighting has been reported between Jaysh al-Islam and rival factions led by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Ghouta, near Damascus.

PASSING PARADE...
*Actor Michael Roberds (Elf, Hot Tub Time Machine) has taken his last bow on life's stage.
*André Brahic, the French astrophysicist who discovered the planet Neptune has rings, is no longer with us.
*Actress Julia Meade (The Ed Sullivan Show, Pillow Talk), has taken her last bow on life's stage.
*Voice actress Yūko Mizutani (Minnie Mouse, Black Jack, Tenchi Muyo!) has passed away.
*Folk singer-songwriter Guy Clark ("Desperados Waiting for a Train", "Workbench Songs", "My Favorite Picture of You") is no longer with us.
*Actor Alan Young (Mr. Ed, George Pal's version of The Time Machine, the voice of Scrooge McDuck for decades) has taken his last bow on life's stage.
*Journalist Morley Safer (60 Minutes) has passed away.
*Actress Madeleine Lebeau (Casablanca, Hold Back The Dawn) has taken her last bow on life's stage.

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...
POLITICALLY...
*Because of growing concerns over North Korea; South Korea, Japan, and the United States will hold their very first joint anti-missile exercise sometime in June.
*With Donald Trump now running unopposed for the Republican Presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders SPLIT the Kentucky Democratic Primary! The mail in ballots for Oregon were still being counted at posting time, although Sanders is the projected winner there.
*Despite previously expressing the opposite position as a businessman, potential Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has told the National Rifle Association he will protect/defend the Second Amendment to the Constitution, will eliminate "gun free zones" when he's President, and that Hillary Clinton will weaken gun owners' rights if she's elected.
*Despite the fact Congressional Democrats had the votes to get the measure passed, the Republican controlled House of Representatives vetoed a measure that would of protected gay rights.
*While it has yet to officially become law, the Senate passed legislation that would allow victims of the September 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages from Saudi Arabia, despite Saudi threats to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.
*President Barack Obama has taken executive action to make anyone earning up to $47,476 a year, or roughly $913 a week, eligible for overtime pay. Whether or not the measure is effective, since employers can always schedule their workers to prevent them from earning overtime to begin with, remains to be seen.
*Was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie right or wrong in cutting aid to the poor?
*Republican Governor Mary Fallin vetoed State Senate Bill 1552, which would have made abortions illegal in Oklahoma, despite the fact Roe v. Wade is still a national law. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Legislature has filed a measure asking for Congress to impeach President Barack Obama over his decision to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity, instead of their birth genders as per North Carolina's state law.
*American Airlines is worried that North Carolina might reinstate jet fuel taxes since the company has come out against that state's "bathroom law".
*The next time you're running for office and allow the press to see what's on your computer,
don't forget to close your porn sites!
*A unanimous opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court finds that the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial does not guarantee a speedy sentencing hearing too.
*Barack Obama has become the first President in office to address the graduating class of Rutgers University, to commemorate the facility's 250th anniversary.
ELSEWHERE...
*Betha Young FINALLY got her crown as Miss America 1948. The 90 year old former Miss New Mexico contestant never had a crowning ceremony, only receiving a ribbon and sash to celebrate her victory because of the temporary depression following World War 2.
*Google has received a patent for an adhesive on the body of its self-driving cars. The so-called human flypaper was designed to minimize injuries in a pedestrian accident by holding the person to the car rather than throwing them after impact.
*Evidence of a new species of horned dinosaur, Machairoceratops cronusi, thought to have lived about 77 million years ago, has been discovered in southern Utah.
*The Oppenheimer Blue, a large and rare blue diamond, was sold at auction for $57.6 million.
*The 2016 Preakness, the second race of professional horse racing's Triple Crown, was won by "Exaggerator". "Nyquist", who won the Kentucky Derby as his eighth straight victory, came in third.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our ELSEWHERE feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

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