Friday’s Recap

Lily Haag, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Monday, January 7th

For the second time in three years, Clemson and Alabama faced off for the College Football National Championship. Alabama was looking for their sixth national championship in 10 years but this attempt would be thwarted by their closest rival. Clemson demolished Alabama with a final score of 44-16, and in turn became the first opponent to beat the Roll Tide by more than 14 points since Nick Saban became head coach in 2007. Clemson became the second team in college football history to go 15-0 in a season. The last time the was accomplished was by Yale in 1894. Alabama ended their season 14-1.

 

Tuesday, January 8th

President Donald Trump gave his first Oval Office address to the nation in an attempt to convince Congress, particularly the democratic-lead House of Representatives, that immigration issues at the southern border are a “growing humanitarian and security crisis”. President Trump has requested a $5.7 billion for a border wall according to ABC News. The democrats have refused funding and Trump has refused to pass a budget without it, causing a partial government shutdown. The current government shutdown will be the longest in history if it lasts past Saturday, January 12th. Trump’s address was paired with a response from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

 

Wednesday, January 9th

       After a woman gave birth to a baby despite being in a vegetative state for over a decade, police are taking the DNA samples of all the male staff members. “She was not in a position to give consent,” Sargent Tommy Thompson said in a statement to the local press, “She was a helpless victim who was sexually assaulted.” The baby is healthy and the mother, whose name has not been released, is recovering in the hospital. Her family has assumed custody of the child.

Thursday, January 10th

         Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of President Trump, agreed to testify before a congressional committee on February 7 and give “a full and credible account” of the work he did for the president. Cohen will be appearing in front of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges, most famously making payments made to women who claim to have had affair with Trump, during the presidential campaign. Cohen is adamant that he acted under the instruction of the president. This is the first major step by the Democrats to aid the Robert Mueller investigation of Trump’s campaign.

 

Friday, January 11th

         The U.S. military has announced that it has officially begun withdrawing troops from Syria, according to the Washington Post. President Trump has previously announced that he was moving to bring home 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria,  but many expected that it would take an extended period of time because of the intricacies of the crisis. The move has shocked many allies of the United States who are now scrambling for control of the area that American troops are evacuating.