News Roundup 9/21/2017
By Erik Estrada
1. Kim Jong Un's Response to President Trump:
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has responded to Trump's comment at the recent UN meeting about "totally destroying" North Korea if he must defend his allies. In response, Kim Jong Un addressed Trump, saying he "will consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history." Although this is not the first time that threats have been made towards the US by a foreign country it is the first time that North Korea has responded with so much sentiment on the matter.
Source: CNN
2. Racial Violence on Cornell University Campus:
A group of 5 white Cornell students surrounded and yelled racial slurs at a black student for minutes before beginning to assault him outside his home. The black Cornell student was arriving home at around 1 AM when he found himself in a confrontation with 5 other students who insisted on him to "come fight us" several times until they closed in on the black student. Since then, Cornell has suspended the fraternity, Psi Upsilon, that the white students affiliated with until further notice.
Source: Yahoo News
3. Cassini Spacecraft Ends its Twenty Year Voyage:
Today marks the day the Cassini exploration spacecraft ended its twenty year trip to Saturn. Cassini is a NASA designed spacecraft that was set out in 1997 to study the planet but didn't actually reach its destination until 2004. Since 2004, it has circled and studied Saturn for 13 years until 7:55 AM on September 15, 2017, when it plunged down into its atmosphere. The satellite studied moons around Saturn that have evidence of hydrothermal vents and a subsurface ocean, all of which are ingredients for life.
Source: NASA
4. Facebook Cooperates with Russia Investigation:
Facebook is handing over information and working closely with the Congressional Committee to investigate Russia, which is looking into ads on Facebook believed to have affected the 2016 election. The Internet Research Agency is a Russian Firm known for filling, primarily news websites, with ads promoting their ideas. The firm had reportedly purchased several ads from over 470 different accounts to avoid being traced. “I don't want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy. That's not what we stand for,” Zuckerberg said. “The integrity of our elections is fundamental to democracy around the world.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
5.UK Experiments with Human Embryos:
Scientists in the UK have been experimenting with human embryos in the UK and have discovered a new protein vital to the developmental process. The protein is called "OCT4" and it is what allows for a single cell embryo to grow into what is a 200 cell bunch, called a blastocyst. Scientists can potentially use this information to further sophisticate medical procedures to prevent miscarriages from happening and possibly even track them before they happen. Scientists have done this type of research on mice before but never on humans, which may urge for human testing.
Source: CNN