State News
Governor Rick Snyder signed new legislation aimed at protecting young athletes from concussions on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The new law requires that all adults involved with youth sports, including coaches, volunteers and employees, go through a concussion awareness program. It also requires them to provide educational materials to the athletes they work with. Coaches will now have to remove any youth athlete from play if they suspect them of having a concussion. The athlete would then not be allowed to return to compete until receiving written clearance from a health care professional. According to Snyder, more than 140,000 high school athletes in the U.S. are injured with concussions every year.
National News
Recent emails to the White House, obtained by news organizations, show that the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was confirmed a terrorist attack two hours after the initial strike, despite what the administration had originally said. A tip from an anonymous source specifically mentioned the group Ansar al-Sharia as the Libyan group responsible for the attack. The emails also show U.S. diplomats describing the attack as it happened. The attack claimed the lives of four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. U.S. officials credit the attack to local militants with alleged links to al-Qaeda affiliates. White House spokesman, Jay Carney maintained the claim that the attack developed spontaneously from a demonstration outside the facility over an anti-Islam video. U.S. Officials have also emphasized that early intelligence of the attacks were mixed.
International News
Mark Thompson, former head of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and incoming chief executive of The New York Times, has been questioned by Margaret Sullivan, The New York Times public editor, for his possible involvment in the BBC child sex scandal that took place last year. The scandal involved the late Jimmy Savile, long-time host of the BBC music program “Tops of the Props.” According to police, there could be over 200 victims. Thompson stated he never worked with Savile, never worked on his programs and never met him. However, The Sunday Times reported in an Oct. 7 story that a BBC journalist had tipped Thompson off about the investigation into Savile. Doug Arthur, an analyst with Evercore Partners, said Thompson should delay accepting his position at The New York Times until there is more clarity.
Weird News
Donald Trump released a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 24 saying he would write a check to a charity of President Obama’s choice for $5 million. In return, Trump has requested Obama’s college records, passport records and applications to be released to the public. Obama must release the documents by Oct. 31, a week from the initial request and before election day. Trump began his statement by arguing that Obama has been the “least transparent” president America has ever seen. He also brought up the long battle Hillary Clinton and John McCain fought for the release of Obama’s birth certificate.
