News Roundup: Here's what You Missed
By Oluwakemi Ike
@kemgross
1. White House Orders Investigation of Trump wiretapping Claim:
On Sunday, the White House requested that Congress investigate a claim made by President Trump alleging that the Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower in New York City, the President’s home and the former campaign headquarters. The President accused former President Barack Obama on Twitter of having his “’wires tapped’ in Trump Tower” which escalated into the White House calling for a congressional investigation of his allegations. Former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. denied that a wiretap was authorized against Trump or his campaign. FBI Director James B. Comey asked the Justice Department to issue a statement disapproving Trump’s claim. Neither the White House nor Trump has issued any evidence.
- Source: The Washington Post
2. Slight Improvements to Trump’s Travel Ban:
President Trump issued a new version of the travel ban which was previously created to temporarily stop refugees from entering the U.S., and enforced travel restrictions on predominantly Muslim countries. The previous version of Trump’s order which was blocked by the courts, temporarily barred visitors from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. The new order excludes Iraq and removes the indefinite block on Syrian refugees. It is still unclear how long the temporary ban will last but Trump and his administration plan to stress that the new version is no different from the first because it still maintains a temporary ban on refugees.
- Source: The New York Times
3. Three Muslim Students Asked "Do you beat your wife?":
Three Muslim students were shocked after trying to meet with Oklahoma state lawmaker, Rep. John Bennett on Thursday at the State Capitol when they were asked to complete a questionnaire with questions such as, “Do you beat your wife?” and “Do you denounce the terrorist organization Hamas?” Bennett is known for expressing his blatant dislike for Muslims in the past, stating that they are a “cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out.” Bennett told a CNN affiliate that he had left his office before the students arrived, had his staff hand out the questionnaire, made the students fill it out and schedule an appointment to speak with him. “Because we were in the State Capitol and because this is a place that's supposed to be open to everyone … I think they weren't expected to be treated with that level of disrespect,” said Anna Facci, an officer with the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
- Source: The Washington Post
4. Bird Flu Detected in Tennessee:
A confirmed case of bird flu has been detected at a Tennessee farm which is affiliated with the nation’s largest chicken producer, Tyson Foods. The flock of 73,500 birds was destroyed to prevent the disease from spreading, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials explained in a statement on Sunday. “Based on the limited scope known to us at this time, we don’t expect disruptions to our chicken business and plan to meet our customers’ needs,” said a spokesman for Tyson. The investigations began when the Lincoln County, Tennessee farm notified the Tennessee Department of Agriculture of their unusually high amounts of deaths being brought upon their flock.
- Source: MarketWatch
5. Logan Debuts With $85.3 Million:
Logan, the X-Men spinoff, led the box office with $85.3 million during its debut weekend. The film starring Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine was an effort by 20th Century Fox to express a new approach of the superhero comic, producing “raw, ugly violence,” said Manohla Dargis, chief movie critic for the New York Times. Jackman who has been playing Wolverine for 17 years helped give the audience a more creative and fresh outlook they had been demanding. The R-rated film which amounted to approximately $100 million to make also made an additional $152.5 million overseas.
- Source: New York Times