News Roundup: Here’s What You Missed
By Jullian Aiden Bravo
@Mr_Reporter_
1. Jeff Sessions Spoke With Russian Ambassador During Trump Campaign:
Jeff Sessions, then a republican senator for Alabama, spoke twice with Russia’s ambassador during the 2016 Trump campaign, according to Justice Department officials. Sessions failed to disclose this information during his senate confirmation hearing for attorney general in which he was asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow. According to Sessions, he "never met any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign". Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House Minority Leader, demanded Sessions to resign and accused him of “lying under oath”.
- Sources: The Washington Post, BBC News
2. Yemen SEAL Raid Provides no Valuable Intel:
According to the Pentagon, the U.S. Navy SEAL raid in which one SEAL member was killed provided no vital intelligence. The information gathered from laptops, hard drives and cell phones has information on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's training techniques and targeting priorities, according to a U.S. official quoted by the Associated Press. However, 10 current U.S. officials who were briefed on the details of the raid claim that no vital information had emerged.
- Source: NBC News
3. Former Vice President Joe Biden Defends Media:
In defense of the media and judicial branch, former Vice President Joe Biden called the attacks on both institutions “corrosive” and “dangerous”. Biden’s remarks came while he was accepting the Patriot Award for political courage and leadership from the Bipartisan Policy Center at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. "To question the actual legitimacy of a free press is one of the most dangerous things out there. The degree that we depart and denigrate our institutions and the fourth estate, I think we really, honest to god, honest to god, weaken our ability for self-government," Biden said. "We undermine it and become weaker and not stronger."
- Source: ABC News
4. Malaysia to Deport North Korean Connected to Death of Kim Jong Nam:
Relations between Malaysia and North Korea unraveled following the murder of Kim Jong Un’s half-brother at Kuala Lumpur airport. Malaysia recently announced it would deport a North Korean held in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam and also cancel visa-free entry for all North Koreans. According to South Korean intelligence and U.S. officials, the murder was an assassination organized by North Korean agents.
- Source: Reuters
5. Scientists Find World’s Oldest Fossils:
Scientists claim to have found fossils in Canada dating as far back as 3.7 billion to 4.8 billion years ago. If the estimation is true, scientists have the oldest direct evidence that offers insights into the origins of life on Earth. Interestingly, the fossils not only offer new insights into the origin of life on Earth but also offer new avenues of research to discover whether life existed on elsewhere in the solar system. “These rocks were of a period in time when we don’t know whether there was life,” said Matthew Dodd, the first author of the research from University College, London. “If we believe the long-standing hypothesis that life evolved from hydrothermal vents billions of years ago then these were the perfect rocks to look at for answering these questions.”
- Source: The Guardian