Obama in a headdress??

  Obama says that America is making progress on Native American problems. We have done many things to improve their conditions, however we still have a lot to do. For example clean energy products, high-speed internet access investments, and protection of their lands by national monuments. Obama says "I've heard you. I have seen you. And I hope I've done right by you" (US News) to the people who were at the conference, most of which were from the 567 tribes that are federally recognized. Before beginning his speech Obama stopped to participate in a "traditional honoring ceremony" which included wearing a colorful robe and cone like hat. Obama described the ceremony as "a moving reminder of  the great friendships that we've developed".

Obama during the ceremony before his speech 

Child cries during city council meeting

   During the first City Council meeting since the Charlotte shooting, a young girl named Zianna Oliphant, delivered a speech. She said "It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed and we can't see them anymore" while crying, and "It's a shame that we have to go to their graveyard and bury them. And we have tears. We shouldn't have tears. We need our fathers and mothers to be by our side" (CNN). Protesters filled the City Hall during the meeting, while remaining peaceful and holding signs about Kieth Scott and Black Lives Matter. They didn't stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. They are frustrated about they way the government sees black people and how they are treated. Zianna says "I've been born and raised in Charlotte. And I never felt this way till now and I can't stand how we're treated. We are black people and we shouldn't have to feel like this. We shouldn't have to protest because y'all are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to and have rights."
The council meeting was held for the releasing of the police tapes that are being withheld from the public.

Zianna Oliphant 

FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

   Oh man last night during the first presidential debate of the 2016 Election, things got heated. I sat down and live streamed the event on my laptop with my pencil and notebook, ready to take notes. So Clinton started the debate by answering a question on job wages. She says that we should make the wealthy have more effect from taxes rather than the middle and lower class, and that the wealthy should help pay for the wages of the less wealthy. While Trump on the other hand immediately talked about the Mexicans, and how they are stealing our jobs. Then they were asked about child care, all Trump said that he agrees with Clinton on a lot of aspects of child care, only their numbers differ. Then on to trade, Clinton says that we need to have international trade because we're such a big part of the world. Trump says no because he believes that foreign countries are "piggy banking" off of America to better their countries. Then the proctor asks Trump about his tax returns, who says he will after his audit is complete. BUT THEN he says that once Hillary releases the 33,000 emails that she deleted, he will release his tax returns. Hillary in response says that maybe Trump is holding back from releasing his tax returns because he is afraid that it will expose him. For example, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is, or not as charitable, or the $650 million he owes to Wall Street and foreign banks will be revealed as well as the lack of payments towards federal taxes, troops, veterans, and school and health. She roasted him. The rest of the debate was a mess! Trump says our airports make us a third world country and Clinton is the reason for our national debt because of all of her "squandered plans". There were many accusations throughout the night and Clinton said that she was prepared for these, and that the viewers should go to her website and fact check everything. And then she referenced "the fact checkers" every time a crazy accusation was made. Clinton said Trump supported the war in Iraq, which he did not like, since he kept repeating "wrong". He tried defending himself, but didn't do a very convincing job in my opinion. RACISM!! When asked about the race issues, Trump mentioned the "Stop and Frisk" policy that was passed in New York and how successful it was. The proctor interrupted and said that "Stop and Frisk"was ruled unconstitutional because it was noticed as "racial profiling". To which Trump said something along the lines of "It's not racial profiling, they're just bad people". Basically the rest of the debate was Trump avoiding the questions being asked and talking about all of the endorsements he's gotten and how proud of them they are. Also he made a wild accusation of how Obama was to blame for the 4,000 killed in Chicago since his election. Trump says we need Law and Order in inner cities to end the police brutality, and Clinton say that we need to train our police so that they are ready for the various situations they will face. Trump also accused Clinton and Obama of creating a vacuum in Iraq that lead to the formation of ISIS, which is FALSE. Ok there's so much to talk about but not enough brain capacity to talk about it. But there's a lot more information on NPR, and the entire transcript of the debate is there, which also has fact checker along with it. It's really cool and you should check out.

Trump and Hillary going at it 

Charlotte shooting

   A video filmed by Rakeyia Scott, wife of the Charlotte shooting victim, Keith Scott, has caused an uproar from many Black Lives Matter protesters. In the video Keith Scott was in his car waiting to pick up his daughter, when the police confronted him. According to this Washington Post Article, the police were waiting for the arrest of someone else, but saw Keith sitting in his car with a marijuana joint, and a gun. In the video his wife is saying that he had just had a brain procedure and his medicine was making him loopy, but the police still continued to ask Mr. Scott to step out his vehicle. After a while you can hear the police officers repeatedly asking him to put the gun away, but his wife repeatedly says that he does not have a gun. Later you can hear 4 gunshots as the police fatally shoot down Keith Scott, even after the wife begs them not to. The public and most Black Lives Matter protesters are asking the police to release their video of the shooting, because in Mrs. Scott's video, it is unclear whether or not Keith Scott had a gun or not. The police have yet to release their video of the shooting, which has led to the speculation of whether or not they are editing the video to match their story. Protesters want the police to show "full transparency" of the incident, and the more the police withhold their video, the more suspicious everyone will be.

People protesting for the tapes to be released.

Gas Prices rise in the South East

   The Colonial Pipeline near Birmingham, Alabama, has experienced a leak according to this CNN article. About 250,000 gallons of oil has been spilled from the pipeline that provides gasoline for around 50 million people on the East Coast. The cause for the spill is unknown, but due to the shortage of gasoline, gas prices have gone up at least 30 cents, and some states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) are declaring a state of emergency. North Carolina has experienced some "spotty" shortages, and they haven't had any stations close down. However, in the areas around Atlanta, Georgia, there have been a few stations that have had to close. But other than that, it doesn't seem to be an issue with severe outcomes.

Map of effected region

Trump's Tax Returns

   Trump has been keeping a lot of information relating his personal records from the public. Such as his medical records and tax returns. After many many months, Trump has finally released a letter from his doctor relating his health. But it doesn't seem like the public will be seeing his tax returns anytime soon. Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. says that his father's tax returns are too distracting for the public according to this CNN article . He says "he's got a 12,000-page tax return that would create ... financial auditors out of every person in the country asking questions that would detract from (his father's) main message". Representative Steve King, a trump supporter, says that there would be different interpretations from everyone about Trump's tax return, and that he thinks it's a good idea that Trump is not releasing them. While Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, has released almost 40 years of tax returns.

Donald J. Trump

Another Shooting

   Yet another wrongful shooting has occurred in Columbus, Ohio, according to this CNN article. A 13-year old black boy, was a suspect in a robbery. He was in possession of a bebe gun that looked very similar to a gun that Columbus police use. When being arrested the boy, Tyree King, had pulled out the bebe gun, and the officer shot him, trying to defend himself. The gunshot ended up killing the child. Columbus Police Chief, Kim Jacobs, said that "This is the last thing that a police officer wants to do in their career. Unfortunately ... it becomes necessary at times to defend themselves,". She also informed the public that, the officer is being suspended for a week and he will have to meet with a psychiatrist before returning to duty. But it also depends on what is found from the investigation. In my opinion, I don't think he should be allowed to return to duty, because the police brutality is getting out of control. Too many police officers are getting away with murdering innocent black citizens. Even though in this case, the victim had a weapon that looked similar to a lethal weapon. The officer still should have made sure of the danger, before taking action.

 Columbus Police Chief, Kim Jacobs

Is Trump fit for president?

       Is Trump fit for presidency? Most people (hopefully) will say no. Events at a church in Flint, Michigan, will further prove that. In a video that can be found in this CNN article, shows Trump being interrupted by the pastor mid speech. You can hear her say "Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech.", followed by Trump attempting to talk about the successes of Flint. However, he was interrupted by heckling members of the audience. One lady asked about his discrimination against black tenants, and another brought to light that Trump had called black people lazy..  As a result Trump quickly ended his speech, and it seems like he had to leave out a majority of his speech, so that he could quickly exit off stage.
     Trump had started his speech by criticizing Mexico, and continued to focus on the negative manufacturing and outsourcing that Flint has suffered from. He never spoke about the actual steps the people of Flint did to fix their water problems, never thanked them either. Earlier this year, when Trump was asked about the situation in Flint, his answer was very vague. He said, that it's a shame that something like that is happening, and that it shouldn't be happening. He also said he didn't want to comment about it anymore and that "they've got a very difficult problem".
    Trump mainly focused on politics during his speech, being very inconsiderate to the people of  Flint, despite what they have done. Which why, in my opinion, Trump is not well fit for Commander in Chief of The United States. He only focuses on bashing his opponents, rarely talks about his policies, other than "building a wall", and he doesn't recognize the hard work that Americans do to better this country.

Trump in Flint, Michigan

Oh Trump :/

   Presidential Candidate Trump is to appear on the "Dr. Oz Show" in the near future. Trump had planned to release the results of his most recent physical examination. In his entire presidential campaign, Trump has not released any information regarding his health, yet he is constantly accusing his opponent, Hillary Clinton, that she is withholding information about her health. Which is very hypocritical. Trump did plan to release his medical records on a recent episode of the "Dr. Oz Show", but according to this NY Times article, he is now just going to discuss general health and welfare. It is said that Trump chose Dr. Oz for as his medium to release his health information, because Dr. Oz is not only a republican but also has a large amount of audience members.Will we ever know Trump's medical past? Or will he just continue to accuse other of having medical secrets instead? Who knows at this point, Trump is a mess. 

  

Trump just being crazy per usual 

Doctor's Orders

    This past weekend, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton showed signs of illness and had the public worried for her health. It was later revealed by her campaign that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia according to a CNN article. Clinton had to leave the 9/11 memorial on Sunday early, because she was feeling sick. She said she felt a little over heated and dizzy but once she returned to the van, where there was AC, she felt fine quickly. She admits that she should've listened to her doctors wishes of taking time off to recover, but the issue was that she could not miss the event at the 9/11 memorial. She was fully committed to that event. It's understandable as to why she went to the memorial despite her condition, because the media would accuse of her of being unpatriotic, which would be devastating to her campaign. Clinton now confirms that she will be listening to her doctors "wise advice" and taking time off to recover.

Hillary Clinton struggling to walk up steps, most likely due to her illness. 

Obama's Request to China

    According to this CNN article Obama lands in China on Saturday, and he says that he wants china "to exercise restraint and emphasize the benefits of adhering to international norms". He says that by having a gain in power results in a gain of responsibilities. Which Obama has told China many times, referencing their disputes in the South China Sea. Obama previewed his speech that he will give when in China. He says "Part of what I've tried to communicate to President Xi is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself"... "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules it's not because we have to, it's because we recognize that over the long term, building a strong international order is in our interests". Obama says that the US has been very strong in responding to China's "assertiveness". And that there will need to be compromises.

Obama shaking hands with China's president back in 2015 

Trump going to Mexico

    According to this ABC News article, Donald Trump has been invited to Mexico by President Peno Neito. Which is a real shock to people all around the country considering Trump's campaign is mostly centered on building a wall between Mexico and America. Neito says that he doesn't nessecarily agrees with Trump, but he is ready to work whomever is to be the next POTUS. Neito is hoping that the conversation that Trump and him will have, will be "very open and constructive", and that he wants to make the border better and more secure as well. Neito is to meet with Democratic Nominee, Hillary Clinton in the near future as well. 

President Neito of Mexico