President Trump questions Puerto Rico hurricane death count
President Donald Trump denied the death count in Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, according to the New York Times. Thursday morning, the President tweeted, “3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico.” The President then said that the Democrats were the ones to inflate the toll, saying that they are trying to “make [him] look as bad as possible.” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz responded to Trump’s comments saying, “Simply put: delusional, paranoid, and unhinged from any sense of reality.” Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló also responded, saying he “strongly denounced” the President’s tweet. George Washington University’s Milken School of Public Health conducted a study that was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government. Researchers determined that an estimated 2,975 died from Sept. 2017 to Feb. 2018.
Paul Manafort pleads guilty, will cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller
Paul Manafort has pled guilty to two of his criminal conspiracy charges on Friday. As part of his plea deal, the Washington Post reported that Manafort will cooperate as a potential witness with special counsel Robert S. Mueller. Mueller has been investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort’s attorneys stated before that they would not cooperate with Muller, as he had no incriminating information about President Trump. Documents state that Manafort’s charges include money laundering, tax fraud, failing to report foreign bank accounts, violating rules requiring registration of foreign agents, lying and witness tampering, according to CNBC.
FDA declares youth vaping an “epidemic”
The Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb declared youth vaping as an epidemic on Wednesday. Gottlieb stated that electronic cigarette companies are not doing enough to keep them out of teens hands, according to USA Today. The FDA is giving companies such as JUUL, Vuse, MarkTen XL, Blu and Logic 60 days to submit plans to prevent youth vaping. Those companies make up 95 percent of the electronic cigarette market. Studies predict that over 2 million middle school, high school and college students smoke some from an electronic cigarette.
Apple announces iPhones XS, XR and XS Max
Apple has announced the release of three new iPhones to replace the iPhone X. The iPhone XS and XS Max are very similar internally and only differ in size. The iPhone XR will be a cheaper version of the iPhone XS. While the iPhone XR cost around $799, the iPhones XS and XS Max will both be more than $1,000. All three phones are very similar to the X, as they feature a full screen with no home button. The newest phones will feature newest technologies, including a new camera and an improved screen.
