By Carlos Solis |Staff Writer| Twelve million Syrians have fled their homes because of the civil war in their country, according to worldvision.org. Foreign powers, like countries such as U.S., and Russia—as well as organizations in the Middle East—have created a mess. The situation in Syria has now turned into one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. Since 2012, the U.S. has accepted 2,174 Syrian refugees - roughly a 0.0007 % of the US population, according to The Guardian. "Obama calls on U.S. to resettle 'at least 10,000' Syrian refugees in 2016 fiscal year," continued The Guardian. This number will only represent 0.0007% of the U.S. population. This shows … [Read more...] about Refugees deserve asylum
President Obama
US and Germany relations compromised
Shane Burrell |Sports Editor| Recent relations between Germany and the United States have been compromised due to allegations blaming the U.S. of espionage. With the last major case of Edward Snowden releasing NSA documents and U.S. servelillance on phone and internet communications to the public just this last year, the United States is now being accused of espionage.The allegations were revealed to the public on Thursday, July 3 by the German government. The New York Times writers Alison Smale and Melissa Eddy report that Germany has requested the expulsion of the U.S. intelligence services' representative of the United States embassy in Germany. These recent situations … [Read more...] about US and Germany relations compromised
Obama turns attention toward California drought
By Greg Avetisyan |Assistant Sports Editor| The state of California is in its worst dry spell in the last 100 years. President Obama made a trip down to Southern California to address the drought. Obama and Governor Jerry Brown met with farmers in Fresno, CA. Fresno’s farmland has suffered through a winter with a lack of rain and snow. Obama has pledged over $183 million from an existing federal fund to help farmers recover from the severe drought. “Water has been seen as a zero-sum game: Agriculture against urban, north against south. We’re going to have to figure out how to play a different game. We can’t afford years of litigation and no real action,” Obama said to The Huffington … [Read more...] about Obama turns attention toward California drought
Federal workers get minimum wage increase
By Santiago Castillo |Staff Writer| President Barack Obama plans to raise minimum wage for federal construction workers from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. “Those likely to see bumps in future paychecks include dishwashers, food servers and construction workers,” according to The Huffington Post. This executive order puts pressure on Congress to change the minimum wage for all federal workers. “The increase in minimum wage will increase the standard of living for those affected,” said professor and chair of Economics Mayo Toruno. Toruno added, “Increasing the standard of living for people will increase their spending giving our economy a healthy business cycle.” When asked if the wage … [Read more...] about Federal workers get minimum wage increase
Obamacare leads to government shut down
By Andy Quintana |Staff Writer| The federal budget failed to pass early October, because the “Grand Old Party” wanted to defund Obamacare once again. Obamacare should not have been involved in the decision to pass the federal budget. Obamacare should have been a separate issue from the budget altogether. Republicans have made efforts to put a holt on Obamacare for a long time. As the time came for a new federal budget to be created GOP seized an opportunity to defund Obamacare through; fear that a federal budget would not be passed, leading to a government shutdown. USA Today explained, “the motivation House Republicans had in placing an amendment to defund … [Read more...] about Obamacare leads to government shut down
Budget cuts aim to take $85 billion out of circulation
Mariela Limon |Staff Writer| The nation will be hit with $85 billion of automatic spending cuts beginning March 1, threatening jobs and funding nationwide, unless Congress agrees on a resolution plan to avoid cuts. According to a White House blog, “Congress passed a law saying that if they couldn’t agree on a plan to reduce our deficit by $4 trillion – including the $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction lawmakers in both parties have already accomplished over the last few years – about $1 trillion in automatic, arbitrary cuts would start to take effect this year.” If no action is taken, the proposed cuts will affect domestic and defense spending. White House officials released a … [Read more...] about Budget cuts aim to take $85 billion out of circulation
Make Puerto Rico the 51st state already, jeez
By Angelice Romero |Staff Writer| It has been 61 years since Puerto Rico became a commonwealth of the United States, so why is it still not a state when it obviously should be? The answer is politics. Being Puerto Rican-American, I see firsthand the struggles Puerto Rico is going through and how becoming a state would benefit us. The education system in Puerto Rico is terrible and lacks major funding. According to The New York Times, riots started because of a 50 percent tuition increase of $800. This not only shows the struggles of the University of Puerto Rico campuses but it also represents the struggle of Puerto Rico and it’s people. The 2010 and 2012 census in Puerto Rico shows … [Read more...] about Make Puerto Rico the 51st state already, jeez
Leave our interest rates alone
By Shanieka Perrier |Staff Writer| It’s unfair that Congress is considering doubling our student loan interest rates. Congress is set to pass a bill doubling interest rates on student loans.This decision is taking place this summer, according to the LA Times. I’m a college undergraduate student dependent on loans. How am I going to pay back these ridiculous loan rates after I graduate? What’s interesting to me is that both Obama and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) agree that Congress shouldn’t increase the student loan rates, according to Yahoo! News. It bothers me that Romney doesn’t have a clear plan. I would like to know how Romney plans to help out low-income undergraduate … [Read more...] about Leave our interest rates alone
Religious controversy sparks over birth control mandate
By Melissa Benton |Staff Writer| The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Jan. 20 that all employers, including religious affiliated institutions, must provide contraception coverage in their health plans for all employees. Roman Catholic bishops and other religious leaders severely opposed this mandate claiming it as a violation of religious liberty. Pres. Obama amended the plan on Feb. 10 requiring all health insurance companies offer employees free contraceptives for all religious affiliated institutions, including churches, hospitals and universities. Many Democrats and others who support Obama’s contraceptive plan believe that this is for the greater good. The … [Read more...] about Religious controversy sparks over birth control mandate
Obama takes time to honor September 11 victims
By Kyla Cook |Asst. News Editor President Obama visited Ground Zero to honor those who have passed on September 11, 2001 and those who have been fighting the War on Terror. Over a week has passed since President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden and still little has been made known to the American public. The news spread like wildfire via social media outlets and even through an announcement at Stagecoach courtesy of Rascal Flatts. That night people rallied in the streets at Ground Zero chanting, “USA, USA, USA!” Just days after, conspiracy theories surfaced over the killing and burial of bin Laden. To quell rumors, the president considered releasing post-mortem … [Read more...] about Obama takes time to honor September 11 victims