C12-4: Where the World's Refuges Live

On the Washington Post, data was published detailing where refugees live. The majority of refugees live in Turkey and Pakistan, yet China and Turkey have the largest population. It is said that most of the refugees are Lebanese and Turkish, and that the size of the American population vs the amount of refugees we have (273,000) is less than 5% and one of the least refugee populated areas. President Trump is trying to vacate most all of our refugees from the country, with little humility or help to offer, however in the larger scheme of things, we don't really have that many refugees as compared to other countries. Pakistan and Turkey have over one and two million refugees, and a large population to begin with. This raises the question of whether we, the United States, should really be kicking out innocent refugees, or if we should be welcoming more in. Trump has said that those without American backgrounds are wrongfully in the United States, however, this has caused much debate and controversy. Hopefully the conflict will be resolved if this information gets to him, but the chances are slim.

C12-3: Astronomers Discover 7 Earth-sized Planets

On CNN, an interesting discovery was reported. According to NASA, there are seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby star. The star is 40 light years away from Earth, and the planets are considered exoplanets. An exoplanet is a planet that revolves around another star than ours, the sun. The seven planets discovered are said to be seven of a possible 3,500 that are in our universe. NASA plans to pay closer attention to the seven new planets, because at least three of these planets possibly harbor life and have oceans of water. They are not gaseous planets like Jupiter, and this is an extremely cool discovery that was published in Nature magazine and worked on by the government and astronomers in Belgium through a network of telescopes. The government has recently reduced their funding to NASA, however, discoveries like these are said to increase the interest again. Hopefully President Trump will see the importance of this discovery and give it more funding, because it could be our new home in a few decades.

C12-2: Power and the Presidency, From Kennedy to Obama (Presidency Subject Post)

On the Smithsonian.com, an article described the power of the presidency throughout the last fifty years. Power in the White House has become more of a democratic and trusting source, instead of what it was when the Framers wrote the Constitution. A lot of power has been pushed back into the American public, just by how the past presidents have addressed past issues. Kennedy, for example, said that American's should always be willing to serve their country, which empowered thousands to enlist. The president is able to sway the public into doing and saying a lot more than ever before, especially with Donald Trump's election, it has brought America together in voicing their opinions and standing for what they believe in, like in the Women's March on Washington. The past fifty years has been changed by our presidents, the Framers, and most importantly, the public.

C12-1: Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Down. How Much Does It Mean? (Presidency Subject Post)

On the New York Times, an article was recently published detailing Mr. Trump's presidency. He currently has an approval rate of 38%, meaning 56% of America disapproves of Trump at this moment in his presidency. It was said that most president's have a very high rating at the beginning of their term, the rating drops to about sixty percent in the middle, and varies from there. Barack Obama had an approval rate of around 50% as he was reelected for a second term, however Mr. Trump has already been well below that rate, for a president who is just beginning his term. The article compared Trump's approval ratings to Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, all president's with a low approval rating at the end of their term. Though the article explains, Trump's ratings are different across outlets of social media. The research found that telephone and online polls showed different approval rates, so the information can't be taken as seriously. While Trump's approval rating isn't great, it could also be due to the differing aspects of social media and polling.

C11-4 Judge rejects Anthem's $54 billion takeover of Cigna

On Politico, an article was just released detailing a decision on a case involving Anthem and Cigna, two giant insurance companies. Anthem wanted to subdue Cigna, however U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson declined the bid, claiming that it would reduce competition, and national accounts. Anthem and Cigna are allowed to appeal the decision in April, which is predicted to happen. The opinion of Amy Berman was one of the people, as she said, "it will eliminate the two firms’ vigorous competition against each other for national accounts, reduce the number of national carriers available to respond to solicitations in the future, and diminish the prospects for innovation in the market" in the court's summary, which makes a good point. Anthem and Cigna are two major insurers and without the other, Anthem would have too much of a monopoly on the public.

C11-3: Jeff Sessions confirmed to be the next attorney general

Tonight on CNN, an article and a video were released discussing Senator Jeff Sessions vote for Attorney General. A close ally of Trump during his campaign, Jeff Sessions is the Senator of Alabama. There was a lot of debate whether Sessions deserved to be Attorney General in the moments before they decided to put it to a vote, which eventually led to Senator Elizabeth Warren being forced to sit down after "impungning Sessions." Sessions, like most others in Trump's cabinet is a white Republican male, which in itself has received backlash and debate. Not everyone agrees with Trump's decision to appoint Sessions, but he will be sworn in Thursday morning, tomorrow.

C11-2: "Rogue" Federal Twitter Accounts

Wynne Davis wrote an article concerning social media in politics on Janurary 27th. The article explains that employees of national parks and services have been creating Twitter accounts since Trump's inauguration. The accounts are claimed to be ran by activists who post comments opposing the Trump administration. People have said that the accounts were made as a result of Trump's gag order on federal agencies and the hiring freeze. Tweets have inspired other scientists and activists to get involved and create a Scientists march on D.C., as well as others to post real facts on climate change and EPA statistics. Trump hasn't responded to any of the tweets, and it was said to be just "fun" that wouldn't be recognized by the government, but it has been an outlet for the public to seek new information on climate change and become aware.

C11-1: Revenge of the Bureaucrats

On POLITICO, an article was released discussing Trump's freeze on federal hiring. The article exclaimed that he's receiving backlash for his actions, but he's also trying to make it so it's easier to fire federal workers. Currently, if you're a federal worker, you are basically set for life, however, Trump and House Republicans are trying to reinstate a law used in 1876 that allows them to reduce the salary of federal employees. This would make it so a federal employee is more likely to quit or leave their job because of their reduced salary. It's creating competition within the government, as well as fear that America will go back to how it was during the Reagan or Carter administration, where hiring freeze's and the Republicans dominated. The article claimed that if you're a Democrat in D.C. right now, you should be vigilant, because by 2018 almost two-thirds of federal employees will be on the verge of retirement, meaning the administration will most likely fill the jobs with a majority of Republican employees.