Next year’s elections could mean impeachment for Trump
According to CNN, White House advisors, lawmakers and donors have expressed concern that President Trump may not realize that he could face impeachment if he loses members of his own party in next year’s elections for house representatives. Republicans have said in multiple interviews how important next year’s election is and how fighting with members of his own party could put his presidency at risk. In a fundraiser held in the summer, donors were presented with slides that addressed those concerns and most of them realize that if Republicans lose the House, Democrats will try to stop the republican and presidential agenda and will start moving articles of impeachment.
Harvey Weinstein’s case causes others to speak out against sexual assault
According to the Washington Post, with more and more sexual assault allegations coming out against American film producer Harvey Weinstein, many people have started using the hashtag “MeToo” in social media platforms, as a way to speak out and tell their own stories against an experience in which they have been sexually harassed or assaulted. Actress Alyssa Milano urged women to contribute, adding, “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” Within a few hours, thousands of tweets with this hashtag started appearing and by Monday, there were more than 200,000 tweets with this hashtag. Many men have used it to show that women are not the only victims of this type of harassment. “Sexual harassment and assault in the workplace are not just about Harvey Weinstein,” Milano said. ” We must change things in general. We must do better for women everywhere.”
Trump administration planning to withdraw from UNESCO
According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration announced on Oct. 12 that the U.S. is going to withdraw from the UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is most known for its World Heritage seal, which is used to brand and protect some of the planet’s most precious places, such as the Taj Mahal, The Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon. However, Trump is not the first president to pull out from the UNESCO. In 1984, the U.S. left in protest under the Reagan administration, claiming the UNESCO had reckless spending and a pro-soviet leaning. It rejoined in 2002 under George W. Bush as a way to encourage international cooperation. Trump’s decision will be effective in December 2018 under the claim that they have financial concerns and have an anti-Israel bias. Trump has also withdrawn from other international organizations such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate accord and has threatened to leave others like NATO, NAFTA and the Iran nuclear deal.
Hurricane Ophelia hit Ireland
According to BBC, Ophelia is the 15th named storm of this active and destructive hurricane season. Unlike most storms, Ophelia went to the east, toward Ireland and Scotland and hit as a post-tropical storm. So far, three people have died in Ireland and thousands of homes and businesses are without power. People were urged to stay indoors and not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Some British media outlets have compared Ophelia to the Great Storm of 1987 which ravaged many parts of the U.K. and left 18 people dead.
Australian parliament received letter from North Korea
According to CNN, the Australian parliament received an open letter addressing several parliament members from North Korea stating that they are a “full-fledged nuclear power” and that President Trump is “trying to drive the world into a horrible nuclear disaster.” Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop stated that the letter was “unprecedented,” pointing out that North Korea usually communicates by different means. The letter was sent about a week after Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly where he commented that “the United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the letter “basically a rant about how bad Donald Trump is” and “it’s North Korea that is threatening to fire nuclear missiles at Japan and South Korea and the United States. It’s North Korea that is threatening the stability of the world.”
Afghanistan mosque attacks leave dozens dead
Suicide attackers took the lives of nearly 60 people at two mosques, one in the Afghan capital of Kabul and the other in the central province of Ghor on Friday. The attackers detonated their vests during worship services in the late afternoon leaving at least 39 people dead in Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul and at least 20 people in a Sunni mosque in Ghor province. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the number of injured has increased to 50.
