Time’s Person of the Year

“Silence Breakers,” representing the people who came forward to report sexual misconduct, have received the Time magazine Person of the Year award. Winning this award is a recognition of the cultural reckoning as well as the #MeToo movement, which has fueled a discussion about sexual harassment worldwide. “This reckoning appears to have sprung up overnight. But it has actually been simmering for years, decades, centuries,” Time’s story said. “These silence breakers have started a revolution of refusal, gathering strength by the day, and in the past two months alone, their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced. In some cases, criminal charges have been brought.” President Trump was the runner-up for Person of the Year, and Chinese President Xi Jinping came in third.

For more information: http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/06/media/time-person-of-the-year-2017/index.html

Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

On Wednesday morning, President Trump announced “the obvious” and formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. “Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” President Trump stated in the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House. President Trump plans on moving the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to the Holy City. “This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.”

For more information: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-israel-capital.html

Russia banned from Winter Olympics

Russia has officially been banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics held in South Korea. The country has been accused of “systematic manipulation” of anti-doping rules. Russian athletes who can prove that they are clean will be “invited” to compete in Pyeongchang, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. Russia’s Olympic Committee has also been ordered to pay $15 million to reimburse the IOC’s costs of investigating the doping scandal and help set up the new Independent Testing Authority (ITA). The deputy prime minister of Russia, Vitaly Mutko, has been barred from attending any future Olympic Games and so has his former deputy, Yuri Nagornykh. The IOC’s decision has no impact on Russia hosting the World Cup.

For more information: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/05/sport/russia-ioc-ruling-intl/index.html

UN Attack in Congo

A “deliberate attack” on UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo constitutes a war crime, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday, calling it the worst offensive on peacekeepers in recent history. “Attacks against those who are working in the service of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are cowardly and constitute serious violations,” said Maman Sidikou, the secretary-general’s special representative in the country. Fifteen peacekeepers were killed along with five members of the Congo’s armed forces on Thursday evening. 53 more were injured. Mission officials believe that the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces carried out the attack, according to the statement. The UN mission “will take all actions to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable and brought to justice.”

For more information: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/08/africa/africa-un-peacekeepers-killed/index.html

Baker Mayfield Wins the Heisman Trophy

Baker Mayfield, senior Oklahoma University quarterback, won the glorified Heisman trophy for the 2017 college football season. Mayfield collected 2,398 votes, while Stanford running back Bryce Love came in second with 1,300 points, and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, last year’s Heisman winner, finished third with 793 votes. “This is unbelievable for me, being up here among these greats,” Mayfield said upon receiving the award with past Heisman winners standing behind him. “It’s something that words can’t even describe. God has put me in this position that I’m so blessed, and a lot of times I wonder why. But it’s such an honor to be up here. It’s unbelievable.”

For more information: http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21722616/baker-mayfield-oklahoma-wins-heisman-trophy-bryce-love-lamar-jackson