Study of Current Events 2019

        Domestic violence has been an issue in Russia for years. There is a saying there: "if he beats you, it means he loves you."         In 2017, Russia decriminalized domestic abuse, and this meant police there do not do anything if someone is the victim of abuse. One woman had both her hands cut off by her husband and had to use her public story to pressure the police into giving him a linger sentence. In another case, a woman was killed by her husband, a police officer, and her body was later discovered by their son. Again, the police gave what seemed the mother of the woman who was killed not a harsh enough sentence for the crime. It was likely reduced because he was a police officer. Many women in prison are victims of domestic abuse who had no other choice but to defend themselves because the police would not.         Efforts are being made to change this. One member of the state Duma, Oksana Pushkina, is fighting to have the decriminalization law overturned and fo

       At Northwestern University in Illinois, the university hosted Jeff Sessions, who was speaking at a lecture hall. Protesters barged through the back door, unsuccessfully held back by police. The next day, a photographer from the university newspaper The Daily Northwestern posted the picture of a student who had fallen over after being shoved by police. The student saw it and criticized the image being posted. The picture was deleted and the newspaper apologized for posting photos like that.        This follows a wave of college papers clashing with the traditional ways of reporting and the student activists. Heightened criticism of the media has made the working environment harder for student journalists. Some student journalists have responded by adhering to the core tenants of free press while others are struggling to balance the changing expectations of students while upholding the standards of journalism 1990: Students in Kansas burned copies of The University Daily Kansan

       On Wednesday, Beijing urged Hong Kong's leader to to support a push for stronger security measures there, as they have been hit by months of protests against the government. However, what the Communist Party has suggested is unclear and could be difficult to enforce. For one, Hong Kong politicians have little interest in national security laws that have the potential to spark more protests. In addition, experts wonder how much Beijing can enforce their will on Hong Kong without damaging the trust in its special status both in China and internationally.        The latest warning to end the protests that have gone on in Hong Kong for 22 weeks was delivered by a vice premier who oversees China's policy towards the territory. He described the protests as the worst conflict in Hong Kong since China took it over from the British in 1997.        China did consider sending troops to stop the protests, but that idea went nowhere after being dismissed as unrealistic. Meanwhile,

      On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that Twitter would stop running political ads. Dorsey said he believed that political reach "should be earned, not bought." This comes after Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would allow all forms of political ads, whether or not they had misinformation or not.       Zuckerberg's position on keeping political ads on Facebook is based on the network being founded based around giving people a voice and also said his company stood for free expression. This decision has received backlash from Democrats, including former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden.       Meanwhile, Twitter's decision to ban political ads has been criticized by the right. Trump's campaign manager for the 2020 election Brad Parscale said Twitter's choice was a partisan one. In contrast, Democrats like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez support the ban on political ads. She herself said “if a compa

      On Wednesday, the Phoenix Police Department fired an officer who pulled his gun on an African American family over a shoplifting report.       This story hit the news back in May, when a one year old girl shoplifted a Barbie doll from a dollar store in Phoenix. The girl's parents were unaware she had taken the doll until the police pulled up behind them. What happened next had conflicting reports from the police and bystanders.       The police reported the family was slow to comply while shouting at the officers and appearing to make moves to reach for weapons.       However, video evidence from bystanders and the family that got arrested. The officer pulled a gun on the family, asking them to get out of the car. One of the officers pushed the father's head onto the car, kicked him in the legs, and then punched him in the back even though he was following the officer's orders. Meanwhile, another officer pointed his gun at the mother and kept telling her to put dow

    Since the late 19th century, Chicago has been a heavily Democratic city with strong teacher activism. This activism has been especially clear recently, when in December of last year Chicago was the site of the first teacher strike within a charter school network.      This year, the city's activism has not changed. On Wednesday, teachers in Chicago announced they would be going on strike on Thursday, prompting class cancelations in the nation's third largest school district. This strike for Chicago's school system is the first since 2012.       For months, the city and Chicago Teachers Union have been in tense negotiations. While there were signs of progress, as the midnight deadline on Wednesday drew nearer, the new mayor Lori Lightfoot canceled classes for Thursday as signs indicated a walkout was inevitable.       These walkouts are one example in a string of over a dozen protests by teachers across the country since early 2018. The current Chicago walkout acts as