We’re back and we’re reading everything from “Fox News” to “The New York Times.” We’re trying to help you keep up with the rapid pace of politics and everyday news. Today, we’ve got an update on the flooding in the Midwest, a possible breaking point for Hawaii, and an update on Brexit.
Trump steps away from decades of American policy in Middle East
President Trump announced on Twitter that the United States would recognize the authority of Israel in the long disputed Golan Heights, according to The New York Times.
Trump was pressured by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is a close political ally and will be up for re-election in April. This is seen as a big political win for Netanyahu.
It is a decision that is not expected to be popular around the world and could ruin Trump’s attempt at bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
From a practicality standpoint the move means very little, but it does have a lot of symbolic meaning.
Two American soldiers killed in Afghanistan
American forces are reporting that two American soldiers were killed Friday while conducting an operation in Afghanistan, according to The Associated Press.
The names of the soldiers will not be released until next of kin are notified. The exact location and who was being fought is also not being released.
There are still approximately 14,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan helping Afghan forces fight the Taliban in the country.
Flooding in Midwest might have long term affects on farmers
Flash flooding caused by temperature increases, sudden snowmelt, and heavy rainfall has been felt throughout the Midwest. Two have already died and the water has caused nearly $1.4 billion of damage in Nebraska alone, according to NBC News.
Most of the farmers were storing their soybean and corn bushels in grain silos hoping the price would go up from its record low amid the Trump administration trade wars. Many of them lost everything.
The increased frequencies of these floods have many multigenerational farmers packing up and heading out. They say it is just to hard to deal with conditions that are so unpredictable.
Hawaii might be at tipping point with regards to tourism
The University of Hawaii published a paper saying that Hawaii might have reached a point where there are too may annual visitors for the state’s resources to handle, according to Fox News.
The paper claims that it will damage the quality of life for locals and the problem will only continue to escalate unless changes are made to how tourism is currently handled in the state.
Hawaii had a record breaking 9.9 million tourists in 2018. That brought in over $2 billion in Tax revenue.
State officials are waiting to see what kind of impact Southwest Airlines announcing they will fly 4,000 customers to the Islands daily has on the tourism numbers.
Reports are that Kaepernick and Reid settlement was worth less than $10M
Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid will reportedly get less than $10 million combined after reaching a grievance settlement with the NFL regarding their collusion case, according to Bleacher Report.
The two claimed the league colluded to keep them out after Reid was the first player to join Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem to protest police violence and racial injustice when they were teammates on the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
Kaepernick then became a free agent the following year and went unsigned in 2017 and 2018.
Reid missed part of the 2018 season, as no team would sign him until the Carolina Panthers did midway through the year.
Britain not leaving EU just yet
European leaders set an April 12 deadline for Britain to come up with a deal for leaving the European Union, according to The Washington Post.
That means if British lawmakers approve the separation deal that has already failed to pass twice, then they can leave the EU May 22. If they do not pass that deal they will need to come up with an alternative by the new deadline.
British prime minister Theresa May was seeking a 3 month extension at the EU summit, though says she was happy with what they were given because it makes it very clear the options that are on the table.
That’s all we have for today. Check back Monday for more.
