Mallory Moore
Dr. Rebecca Flavin
Amer. Const. Development
November 14, 2016
Weekly News Journal
Week of September 5, 2016
1. “Without Conservative Supreme Court Majority, Voter-Law Challenges Make Gains”, Robert Barnes, Washington Post, 09/05/16
• Because of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent death, the Supreme Court no longer has the possibility of a Conservative majority for voting on things like “absentee ballots” or other voting rules.
2. “Supreme Court Allows ‘Straight-Ticket’ Voting in Michigan, Adam Liptak, The New York Times, 09/09/16
• The Supreme Court did not let Michigan regress to “straight-ticket voting” for the upcoming presidential election. The Supreme Court showed their power over state officials by not letting a few of them drudge up laws of the past.
3. “Court Strikes Down Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Requirement in 3 States”, Associated Press, Fox News, 09/10/16
• The Supreme Court would not let 3 states, “Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama”, make their residents show proof of their citizenship when registering for voting. The case went back down to the district court and the lower court as well
Week of September 12, 2016
1. “Senate rejects series of gun measures”, Tom LoBianco, CNN Politics, 09/12/16
• The Senate could not bring themselves to pass measures to make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to buy weapons. Both sides had supporters and nay-sayers. Before the voting started, they were under scrutiny because of the recent Orlando shootings.
2. “Obama to meet with leaders of Iraq, Nigeria, and Colombia”, Darlene Superville, NY Times, 09/16/16
• Article talking about President Barack Obama’s upcoming meeting at the U.N. General Assembly. Discusses the executive duties that the president holds as representative of our country, one being foreign relations
3. “Tension with Russia Rises as U.S. Halts Syria Negotiations”, Michael Gordon, New York Times, 09/16/16
• Article discussing foreign relations and executive duties of Barack Obama and his involvement with Russia and the potential tension between our two countries if there is not action taken with Syria
Week of September 17, 2016
1. “U.S., Japan, South Korea Condemn Nuke Test by North Korea”, Associated Press, Fox News, 09/18/16
• Article concerning foreign relations, how involved our President should be, and the U.S. and other countries being hesitant about letting North Korea have nuclear weapons and being able to test them.
2. “Congress Struggles to Finish Zika Aid, Prevent Shutdown”, Andrew Taylor, Boston Globe, 09/19/16
• Congress is currently discussing an important bill that could put them at a halt if a decision is not made on whether or not they are going to give money to Planned Parenthood for the Zika virus.
3. “Obama, in final UN speech, urges more help for refugees”, Associated Press, Fox News, 09/20/16
• The President at the U.N. General Assembly discussed things like foreign relations, “refugees from Syria”, “globalization”, which all could concern separation of powers if Obama does not have the approval from the other branches to approve his bills or let refugees in.
Week of September 24, 2016
1. “Pentagon Chief is Expert on Nuke but Says Little About Them”, Associated Press, Fox News, 09/25/16
• Ash Carter is President Obama’s defense chief who claims to be an expert on nuclear weapons, but is taking this concern out of the public eye. He claims that “deterrence [is] the cornerstone of U.S. strategic defense policy”. There could be potential problems with separation of powers if some of his policies are not accepted by Congress or the Supreme Court.
2. “Amid Tensions, Japan Navy Chief Wants Exchanges with China”, Associated Press, NY Times, 09/26/16
• Article talking about Washington’s involvement with Japan, whose navy chief wanted to re-open interaction with China and maybe relieve some of the tension between the two countries
3. “FBI Chief Says Immunity for Clinton Aide Limited to Laptop”, Matthew Daly, Washington Post, 09/27/16
• The chief of the FBI is giving immunity to Hilary Clinton’s former chief of staff because they want to inspect her laptop in relation to Clinton’s use of her private email server despite her cry of executive privilege
Week of October 3, 2016
1. “After riff, Bill Clinton reaffirms health-care law support”, Associated Press, Boston Herald, 10/04/16
• Bill Clinton uses his position as former President and now future first husband to try and sway the public towards his wife’s healthcare proposal even though the Clinton family is still under scrutiny for their attempted use of executive privilege concerning thousands of emails on hidden servers
2. “US: Israel broke its word on new settlements”, Kevin Liptak, CNN.com, 10/05/16
• Article about the undermining of political peace. International relations are just as important as internal relations
3. “State Department to Release New Batch of Clinton Emails”, Laura Koran, CNN.com, 10/07/16
• Article about the scandal behind Hilary Clinton refusing to release the thousands of emails from her private server; finally, they denied Clinton’s claim of executive privilege
Week of October 10, 2016
1. “Donald Trump Threatens to Sue The Times Over Article on Unwanted Advances”, Alan Rappeport, NyTimes.com, 10/13/16
• The New York Times resisted Donald Trump’s attempt to sue because of the ever-standing rule of freedom of speech, or free press, even if it may put someone in a negative light
2. “Newspaper Closes in Hungary, and Hungarians See Government’s Hand”, Helene Beinvenu, nytimes.com, 10/11/16
• Hungarian government has denied reporters access of a newspaper, ignoring their right to free press
3. “Thousands take part in Anti-Government Protest in Hungary”, Associated Press, Fox News, 10/16/16
• Hungarians are furious about their right to freedom of speech and protest being taken away due to the closing of a newspaper, which still had reporters and journalists under contract
Week of October 17, 2016
1. “For a rare moment at the Supreme Court, the genders were on equal footing”, Robert Barnes, Washington Press, 10/17/16
• The Supreme Court discussed the meaning of double jeopardy and its relation to gender equality. They talked about gender equality also in the Supreme Court.
2. “The Final Trump-Clinton Debate Transcript, Annotated”, Aaron Blake, Washington Press, 10/19/16
• Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump had the final presidential debate this past week, discussing topics like abortion, the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court, and much more that was and is covered in this class
3. “Obama says the Affordable Care Act works but has affordability ‘growing pains’”, Amy Goldstein, Washington Press, 10/20/16
• Obama discusses the faults and positives of his healthcare plan and how it has affected the country. There was such dispute over whether or not ObamaCare was a good thing, there must have had to have been an eye kept out for certain branches being too involved and separation of powers violations.
Week of October 24, 2016
1. “In the Year of Trump, the South isn’t just red vs. blue – it’s black vs. white”, Aaron Blake, Washington Press, 10/25/16
• There is a serious emphasis on racial separation and strife now that such a strong Republican had dominated the South nominating votes because of his dominance of the white vote.
2. “How Incumbency, Not Gerrymandering, May Protect the Republican House Majority”, Michael Barber, Washington Press, 10/27/16
• Discusses the Republican-led gerrymandering happening in the House of Representatives which, because of Donald Trump’s struggles, may be up for grabs
3. “Clinton Doubles Trump’s October Fundraising and Has Dominant War Chest in Race’s Final Days”, Abby Phillip, Sean Sullivan, and Matea Gold, Washington Press, 10/27/16
• Article concerning the huge lead that Hilary Clinton has over Donald Trump in regards to fundraising. Donald Trump technically was receiving soft money only from himself.
Week of October 31, 2016
1. “Administration defends labor-law executive order against court decision”, Joe Davidson, Washington Post, 11/01/16
• A small federal judge in Beaumont, Texas stopped Obama’s executive order to prohibit workers from working with workplace violations
2. “Saudi Government Inks More Lobbyists as Congress could revisit 9/11 bill In lame duck”, Catherine Ho, Washington Post, 11/03/16
• Earlier in the year, Congress used their veto power to override the President’s veto of JASTA, which allowed families of victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi government
3. “Rolling Stone Loses Defamation Case Over Rape Story”, Ben Sisario, Hawes Spencer, Sydney Ember; New York Times, 11/04/16
• Concerns libel and a falsely reported rape case written by Rolling Stone Magazine who made the Dean of Students at a university out to be a villain
Week of November 7, 2016
1. “Rules Surrounding the President’s Picks for Top Jobs Heard by the Supreme Court”, Robert Barnes, Washington Post, 11/07/16
• The Supreme Court discusses on perhaps re-evaluating what the president’s hiring powers might exactly entail
2. “Supreme Court Seems to Favor Miami Suing Banks Whose Lending Practices Led to Neighborhood Blight”, Robert Barnes, Washington Post, 11/08/16
• Miami wanted to sue its big banks effected the city’s economy through foreclosures, downturn in tax revenue, etc.; the Supreme Court voted and gave the city the go-ahead to move forward with the trial
3. Trump’s Victory has Enormous Consequences for the Supreme Court”, Robert Barnes, Washington Post, 11/09/16
• Article talking about the consequences that the new President-elect’s victory will have on the Supreme Court. This might be the first time in a long time with majority of the justices being Republican. People fear they will be regressing with certain laws that democrats have worked hard in the past to pass and protect.