News Wrap Up
A lot is happening in our world right now! Make sure you stay informed by reading about four of the top news stories from this week.
On Feb. 1st, Myanmar military officials seized control of the country. Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia between India and Thailand. On Monday, during the early hours of the morning, Myanmar’s civilian leader and pro-democracy advocate in the country, Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians, were detained by the Myanmar military. Afterwards, the military announced that it would be seizing control of the government for a year’s time. Myint Swe, vice-president of Myanmar, was formally declared president. President Swe then announced that he would be granting control of the government over to the military under a provision of the Myanmar constitution which allows the president to pass authority to the military in a time of emergency.
On Feb. 5, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on in-church services in California. In a key ruling this Friday, the Supreme Court granted an injunction that would allow in-church services to resume in California. This victory comes as a relief to many churches around the state, as they will finally be free to open their doors again to the members of the community. However, the Supreme Court did set a few boundaries in their ruling. According to AP, in order to resume in-person services, churches in areas with a high COVID spread must restrict capacity to twenty-five percent. Churches with lower virus spread may host up to fifty percent normal capacity. Although it was not a complete victory, the churches are happy with the progress made.
On Feb. 6, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of her committee assignments. In an unprecedented move, Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14), was removed from her House committee assignments by vote. The firestorm began when comments made by Rep. Greene before her time in Congress resurfaced. In these statements, she expressed sympathy for a litany of conspiracy theories including a now-deleted Facebook post where she suggested the Sandy Hook shooting was staged. Shortly after these comments were brought to light, the public demanded that House Minority Whip Kevin McCarthy remove her from her committee assignments. This would effectively strip her of any legislative authority beyond her basic duties as a sitting congressperson. Nevertheless, Rep. McCarthy released a scathing rebuke of Rep. Greene and her past comments, but did not remove her. Unsatisfied with the response, House Democrats called a vote. The Democrats, with the support of eleven Republicans, successfully removed Rep. Greene from her assignments.
On Feb. 7, protests broke out across Myanmar in response to the coup d’etat. In an AP report, over two thousand people gathered to protest in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. They gathered to protest the imprisonment of Suu Kyi and President Min Myint on obscure charges. Many believe the charges are trumped up, and are being used as an excuse to grab power. However, the populace is also protesting the military’s decision to block access to the internet, which has instigated further discontent among the populace. Riot police were present at the protest, but according to the AP report no violence has occurred between the police and the protestors.
