Category: National

On Friday, January 22, winter storm Jonas hit almost a dozen East Coast states. Jonas, which cleared up Monday morning, brought large amounts of snow, flooding, and heavy winds to areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York City, Long Island, West Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky. According to the Huffington Post, 11 states declared a state of emergency.

The first night of the storm, according to CNN, resulted in more than 500 vehicles trapped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In addition to Pennsylvania, both West Virginia and Kentucky also had motorists stranded on major highways for many hours, some into early Saturday morning.

In addition to traffic pileups, airports and Amtrak cancelled and postponed all incoming and outgoing services to the East Coast. New York City experienced cancellations of a different kind. When Jonas caused power outages in several widespread locations, the city was forced to cancel Broadway shows for all of Saturday. Also without power Saturday were parts of New Jersey and North Carolina. The Associated Press reported more than 150,000 businesses and homes in North Carolina and over 90,000 people in New Jersey had no power for parts of the day on Saturday.

Jonas also brought severe flooding to parts of New Jersey. According to the Huffington Post, WIldwood, Cape May, and Ocean City experienced a record-breaking 9.4 feet of water as a result of the storm. The flooding is said to be worse than what New Jersey endured during Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012. While Delaware escaped severe flooding, they reported winds upward of 75 miles per hour (mph), speeds that are typically seen in tropical storms. Also reporting winds at that speed was Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base.

According to the Huffington Post, Jonas also set records in six different areas for being the single biggest snowstorm. In Allentown, Pennsylvania, 31.9 inches fell; Baltimore-Washington International Airport received 29.2 inches; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania got 30.2 inches; LaGuardia Airport in New York dealt with 27.9 inches; and at JFK Airport 30.5 inches fell. The snow also caused U.S. federal government offices to shut down, and schools to close across the East Coast.

The storm claimed many fatalities. The first reported, according to CNN, was an 82 year old man from the Washington D.C. area who died while shoveling snow. While snow shoveling seemed to be one of the main causes of death, hypothermia, vehicle collisions, and even carbon monoxide poisoning were all reported causes of death during the snowstorm. The New York Times reported three instances of carbon monoxide poisoning due to the storm, a woman and child in New Jersey, a man in Pennsylvania, and an elderly couple in South Carolina. The Associated Press reported that, as of Sunday night, the total death toll had risen at least to 29.

While snowstorm Jonas is over, cities continued to recover from the damage caused by the storm early into the week. In Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser continued to advise people to stay off the roads Monday as they continued to be slick and dangerous. While the Long Island Rail Road opened 12 of its branches for the Monday morning commuter, 20% of its branches will stay closed to repair damages caused by Jonas. Also on Monday, airports attempted to dig out of the snow and offered limited flights. Additionally, government offices in Maryland, U.S. federal government offices in Washington, and schools across the East Coast also remained closed on Monday as efforts to clear roads and snow continued.

Presidential elections are hard to predict. Even at this point in the polling, many Americans will change their vote, and supposed winners could be ousted at the finish. Over the past few months, several candidates have dropped their bid for the presidency, and left the election to bigger players, with much more support.

Most recently, Bobby Jindal, a republican hopeful, decided to drop his long-shot run for the GOP nomination. According to New York Times, Jindal ended his candidacy by saying, “This is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for president.” Since October, republicans Rick Perry, John Bolton, and Scott Walker have also ended their campaigns. Despite this mass exodus of GOP candidates, the Atlantic says that as of November, there are still fourteen candidates running for the GOP nomination.

The democratic nomination has been much less contested; fairly early on three of the six major candidates dropped their candidacies: Lincoln Chafee, Lawrence Lessig, and Jim Webb. With Lessig’s drop on November 2nd, there are three democratic hopefuls still campaigning for their possible presidency: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley.

Many democrats had hoped the current vice president Joe Biden would announce his candidacy late in the game, but he ruled himself out of the running on October 21st, leaving Hillary Clinton as the leading candidate of the democratic party. According to RealClearPolitics, a recent ABC poll showed Clinton as nearly double the support of the other two candidates combined.

The same poll showed Donald Trump, republican hopeful, as the ongoing frontrunner of the GOP. Despite an early tight race in the GOP, it seems that few candidates have a chance to pass Trump in the current polls. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio seem to be the only candidates who have a chance at catching up to Trump in the primaries.

As we approach the final counts of the primaries, it is likely that the results will have changed from the polls we see now. But, as of the most recent polls, it seems that we may be facing a Trump vs. Clinton presidential race.

On Friday, November 27, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado was open fired on. The suspect, who has been named as 57 year old Robert Lewis Dear, began shooting outside of the building and then led police into a nearly six hour long standoff exchanging gunfire before he surrendered and was apprehended.

The standoff between Dear and authorities, which began just after the initial 911 call at 11:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) resulted in three deaths and nine civilian injuries. While his motive was and is still currently deemed unclear by police, CNN reported Dear, who openly expressed anti-abortion and anti-government views, was heard muttering something about “baby parts” after the shooting. From this, inferences have been made in regards to Dear’s motive. CNN also reported investigators also found evidence in and around the building including handguns and rifles, which were allegedly brought in a duffle bag to the scene by Dear, and propane tanks believed to be part of Dear’s attack.

The attack, according to Reuters, is the first deadly attack on a U.S. abortion provider in six years. However, according the the Wall Street Journal, the attack comes after recent months of protesters gathering outside clinics due to the surfacing video from an anti-abortion group which allegedly shows officials from Planned Parenthood discussing reimbursements for supplying fetal tissue for medical research.

Of the deceased was Officer Garrett Swasey, who was a six year veteran of the university police force and worked at the University of Colorado. Two civilians, Jennifer Markovsky and Ke’Arre Stewart, were also killed in shooting. According to the Denver Post, Stewart was an army veteran who enlisted out of high school in 2004 and served in Iraq. Markovsky was a stay at home mom, who moved to Colorado after her husband was stationed there for the military.

According to CNN, Dear, who is currently being held in a Colorado Springs prison without bail, faces charges of first degree murder. The charges were addressed in Dear’s first court appearance on Monday, November 30, who faced his arraignment via video feed from prison. If found guilty, Dear faces a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum sentence of the death penalty. After the court appearance, District Attorney Dan May said in an interview with Reuters that prosecutors will have 63 days to decide whether or not they want to bring a death penalty case. The U.S. Justice Department officials have also joined the case, increasing the possibility of a terrorism or civil rights case being brought against Dear by the federal government. Dear will formally charged on December 9.

While this is Dear’s first time facing murder charges, it is not his first run-in with the law. Dear had previously been accused of domestic and animal abuse, in addition to being charged with being a peeping tom.

On Saturday, November 28, Obama addressed the attack in a statement offering praise for Officer Swasey, condolences for the families of the victims, and condemnation of another violent attack through the use of gun violence. Obama once again called on policymakers to do something to prevent future mass shootings. “This is not normal. We can’t let it become normal,” Obama said in a CNN article. “Enough is enough.”

On September 21, Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and Goshen College issued a press release announcing their joint decision to withdraw from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in response to concerns about the pair’s decision to allow the hiring of married gay and lesbian faculty. In July, EMU and Goshen updated their non-discrimination policy to include the hiring of same-sex couples, a decision which falls out of alignment with the CCCU’s hiring policy. In a statement issued by the CCCU’s Board of Directors (of which President Mullen is a member), the hiring policy stipulates that Christian colleges have the right “to only employ individuals who practice sexual relations within the boundaries of marriage between a man and a woman,” and that until recently, “there had been an alignment of hiring policies within the CCCU membership.

EMU and Goshen notified the CCCU of the changes they were planning to make in their hiring practices, a notification that led to a discussion of the CCCU member presidents to consider the possibility of changing the status of EMU and Goshen to non-member affiliates. According to a statement issued by the Board of Directors, “approximately 75 percent of members agreed in full or in principle with the Board’s recommendation to consider moving EMU and Goshen to non-member affiliate status,” Houghton was among this 75% according to Mullen. Additionally, 20% of member presidents “felt that EMU and Goshen should continue in full membership,” and less than 25% supported neither of these options. While this discussion period was underway, two member institutions, Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) and Union University, expressed concerns about the dialogue process and subsequently withdrew their membership from the CCCU.

Following their withdrawal, both EMU and Goshen maintained in a joint press release that their respective Christian commitments remained intact. In a joint press release, EMU’s President Loren Swartzendruber commented: “EMU remains fully committed to our Christian mission and will do so as an institution rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition which attempts to reflect Jesus’ call to peacemaking and justice.” In the same statement Goshen’s President Jim Brenneman stated: “Our Christian commitments and values have not changed, and while our desire has been to remain at the table with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we don’t want to cause further division in the CCCU.”

At EMU the original decision to change hiring policies was supported by a majority of employees and students, according to Steven Johnson, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Visual and Communication Arts at EMU. Johnson stated, “For many in the community, this decision was in line with deeply held faith commitments regarding inclusion and welcome and was greeted with joy. For others, the hiring policy decision was difficult to reconcile with their own understanding of faith.” That being said, Johnson described the atmosphere at EMU to be one of relief, “I believe many are glad to have a resolution to the listening process and are ready to move on to a new chapter with renewed energy.”

The atmosphere at Goshen regarding the changes in hiring policies was similar according to Goshen senior Peter Meyer Reimer, “The student body has been ready for this for a long time, as have the faculty.” Speaking to the impetus behind this change in hiring policy, Meyer Reimer added, “We [at Goshen] recognize that our heterosexual privilege is based upon the oppression of alternative sexualities, and that giving rights to those marginalized groups reduces our privilege as heterosexuals, which is difficult, but it is also just. Any institution that claims to prop up heterosexual privilege by perpetuating continued institutionalized discrimination against marginalized sexualities cannot pretend that they are doing so because they are “Christian.” I think this is simply a thinly veiled attempt by those with the power to hold onto it with their slimy little paws a little longer.”

According to Johnson, EMU’s decision to leave the CCCU was met with a mixed reaction from the community. Concerning the reaction of employees Johnson commented, “Some have expressed sadness that the university is losing a voice at the table in CCCU discussions. Others are relieved that the university won’t be spending energy trying to stay in the organization if the majority of CCCU institutions are against full membership for EMU.” On the other hand, the reaction of the student body has been largely muted according to Johnson, a reaction which he attributed in part to the lack of familiarity EMU students have with the CCCU and its programs.

Goshen’s decision to withdraw alongside EMU has not been a “big deal” on campus according to Meyer Reimer, “ basically everyone on campus [was] in strong support of the hiring policy change, long, long, long before the administration actually made the official change, and so if leaving the CCCU is a necessary extension of that, okay.” Similar to the response at EMU, Meyer Reimer noted that students were largely unaware of Goshen’s involvement with the CCCU prior to the response to their change in hiring policy.
While Houghton has not made an official statement concerning their opinion of the hiring policy changes made by EMU and Goshen, the college will continue to remain a member of the CCCU.

On November 8, 2016, the United States starts its’ 58th presidential election. Taking place every four years, presidential campaigns and elections have evolved into a series of fiercely fought, and often times controversial, contests that are now played out in news medias throughout the United States and the world.

At least a dozen Republicans and a handful of Democrats have expressed an interest in running for their party’s 2016 Presidential nomination. With each passing day the list gets narrower. With President Obama being unable to seek re-election in 2016 due to constitutional term limits, he’ll sit in the back seat for this ride to paving history for the United States.

For the Democratic Party there are twenty-one individuals who have announced their candidacy. There are still twenty-three possible candidates who have filed and are waiting on confirmation. This is making the Democratic Party with forty-four possible candidates.

The Republican Party on the other hand has thirty-seven announced candidates who have already announced their candidacy and fifty-four possible candidates who have filed for the elections but are still waiting for their confirmation. This gives the Republican Party ninety-one possible candidates.

Running for the Democratic Party in the 2016 presidential election is Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former Secretary of State. Clinton has started campaigning in the last few weeks. Clinton would need to win over the Obama coalition of the black community and the young, college-educated voters who support President Barack Obama. Clinton would also need to maintain her base of support among the white working-class women. In order to win crucial states like Florida and Colorado, Clinton will need to convince Hispanics that she is with them every step of the way when it comes to immigration laws and other issues that are becoming more of an issue in politics.

Clinton’s message to all Americans is this, “Expect a nearly constant emphasis on leaving a better country to voters’ children and grandchildren. Clinton will weave in her own experiences as a mother and grandmother to try to persuade voters that she is best positioned to address income inequality and to aid the middle class. Her economic message will highlight issues that resonate with women in particular, including a higher minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, early childhood education, and affordable child care.”

Running under the Republican Party is United States Senator, Ted Cruz. Cruz has opened his presidential campaign headquarters in Houston, Texas. To win the republican nominations, Cruz will have to bring together the party’s anti-establishment wing, which is made of separate-but-overlapping voter blocs, including Christian conservatives, libertarians, and Tea Party voters that are angry with the leadership of both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

Senator Cruz’s message to the citizens of the United States of America is this; “Mr. Cruz will seek the Republican nomination by running not just as the most conservative candidate, but also as the boldest one in the field. He will emphasize his hardline stances against President Obama, particularly his attempt to defund the health care law, which made him a deeply unpopular figure among his party’s leaders.”

He goes on to state, “ He argues that in recent political history, Republicans have won only when they run as conservatives. Mr. Cruz’s message will be that he represents the most emphatic turn away from Mr. Obama and liberalism.”

As time progresses, the spot for President of the United States of America will be sought after by a multitude of highly qualified individuals. It is our job to determine “who” that right person is to lead this nation we call the United States of America.

In California, residents are experiencing water regulations and challenges amidst a historic statewide drought. This drought, which began in 2011, has continued to prove a challenge for California’s economy, which comes largely from agriculture. According to a CNN report, it is estimated that California grows more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and more than two thirds of the nations fruits and nuts. With the situation becoming so dire, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to reduce water consumption statewide by twenty-five percent..

Brown issued this sanction while at a press release on top of a snow-barren Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada mountains. “Today we are standing on dry grass when we should be standing on five feet of snow. This historic drought calls for unprecedented action,” claimed Brown, according to a statement by NBC. Snowpack in mountain ranges across the state provide consistency to the reservoir levels, but also to less obvious places like irrigating farms and ski resorts, both of which rely on snowpack as a source of water for the season. In fact, many ski resorts have been forced to close early this past year, and some are building zip lines, mountain bike trails, and wedding venues to continue the flow of tourists into the area.

This scramble to adapt to dwindling resources is found in creative ways all across the state. Statewide, restaurants are required to only give customers water by request, and hotel chains must ask guests if they are willing to not have their linens laundered each day. In Santa Barbara, city officials are looking into reopening a water desalination plant to quench the city’s shortage, and are paying a hefty price tag, close to $1 billion, to do so.

In Los Angeles, residents are being paid by utilities companies to replace their grass lawns with more drought tolerant alternatives. The city of Palm Springs, where water consumption per capita more than doubles the state average at 201 gallons per day, has begun a campaign to reduce their consumption by as much as fifty percent. The city plans to do this by removing grass medians of the city and instead replacing them with things like cactus and desert bushes.  They are also paying their residents to do the same with their own lawns, as well as offering those residents substantial rebates if they choose to install low-flow toilets.

Even with all of these changes however, there will not be nearly as much of a shift in water consumption as even a minor reform by farmers. Currently, farmers consume about eighty percent of all water in the state of California. Many farmers have reported substantial decreases in the number of acres they are able to plot this year, coming in response to the reported twenty percent allocation by the California Dept of Water Resources of the more than 4.2 million acre-feet of water requested.

Despite these reductions in yield, consumers are not expected to see extreme rises in food costs.  This is due in part because of food diversity. If, for example, rice production, which requires the rice to be submerged in water to grow, drops in California, rice farmers in the South might shift their production to meet the need.  However, this is not to say that the problem is over. With drought covering more than ninety-eight percent of the state, California will continue to adapt to the changes in its environment.