A rundown of things happening around the globe this week:
- President Donald Trump has wished Michael Flynn good luck on his sentencing. The former national security adviser is being sentenced by the federal court for lying to the FBI about his contacts with former Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. According to the Washington Post, Flynn told investigators he had not discussed U.S. sanctions with Kislyak early last year. In his plea agreement, he had admitted to doing so. Lying to the bureau holds a sentence of fives. His lawyers have asked for a sentence of probation of no more than one year with minimal conditions of supervision, as well as 200 hours of community services.
- The Department of Education aims to rescind Obama-era policies that ensured minority students are not unfairly disciplined in schools. The administration believes this will be a step towards ending school-related violence. According to CNN, the policy recommendations came from the Federal School Safety Commission’s report. The goal of the commission is to evaluate and provide recommendations about how to keep students safe in school. Due to the commission being brought together in the aftermath of school shootings, many people anticipate the main focus will be about guns. The commission looked into several policies that include mental health issues on the impact of violent entertainment on children’s development, according to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. While the report does not recommend arming teachers, it does state that highly trained school personnel with access to guns will help keep schools safe. In a joint statement made by former Education Secretaries John King Jr. and Arne Duncan, they said by rescinding the Obama-era policies, the Trump administration was “(turning) its back on our most vulnerable students.”
- Saudi Arabia issued a rebuke of the U.S. Senate on Monday. The country has rejected a bipartisan resolution putting the blame of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi solely on the crown prince. This is the latest sign in how the royal court and Congress’ relationship has begun to deteriorate. According to CBS News, U.S. senators last Thursday passed the measure that blamed the crown prince for the Khashoggi murder, as well as a separate measure calling for the end of U.S. aid to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Early Monday morning, Saudi officials released a lengthy statement stating the Senate’s resolution “contained blatant interferences” in the kingdom’s affairs. “The kingdom categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs, any and all accusations, in any manner, that disrespect its leadership … and any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or diminish its nature,” it said. Saudi Arabia denies Prince Mohammed was involved in the October killing of Khashoggi. According to Saudi officials, their investigations concluded the prince’s aides planned to bring the journalist back to the country and the agents had exceeded their authority resulting in his death.
- North Korea once again has lashed out at the United States over sanctions. It accuses the State Department of “blocking the path to denuclearization” through strengthening sanctions through talks between Pyongyang and Washington. According to Fox News, the rogue regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave credit to President Donald Trump for his efforts to improve relations between the U.S. and North Korea. In the same statement, it criticized the State Department for slowing down the process.
- A Texas teacher has filed a lawsuit against a school district. Bahia Amawi received a new contract to sign in September for the school year. The contract asks to affirm that she did not boycott Israel and that she wouldn’t while working for the school, Amawi, who is of Palestinian descent, said the agreement infringed on her stance on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and her belief in the First Amendment. The contract stems from the 2017 law passed by the state’s Republican-held legislature and governor. According to the Washington Post, it prohibited state agencies from contacting with companies boycotting Israel, this is the subject of the lawsuit being filed by Amawi in federal court. Amawi says the enforcement of the law violates her right to free speech. She started working for the Pflugerville Independent School District outside of Austin in 2009. In a statement on Facebook, the school district said it was bound by the law passed. The law was part of a wave of states that have passed legislation requiring state agencies to not do business with companies that boycott Israel. The lawsuit states Amawi is seeking an injunction that will strike the “no boycott of Israel clause from school contracts, as well as others statewide, and pay her reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.
Gathered by Jenna Holley, TMN