“Now, almost two decades later, Betancourt has returned to finish what she started. In her announcement, Betancourt said ‘While the FARC enslaved me and my companions, the drug cartels, violent groups and corrupt politicians enslaved each of you. We are going to leave behind this culture of mafias, violence and lies, and we are going to learn again to be free citizens.’”
Read More“With the future of NC redistricting likely playing out in the states' court rooms, Governor Cooper’s veto will not be the last North Carolinians hear about changes to midterm elections. Though lawmakers on both sides of the aisle remain vocal about how the debate should be settled, all eyes now turn towards the seven justices in Raleigh to shape this coming election cycle.”
Read More“Russia has vital military and economic interests in Ukraine, as well as deep historical and cultural ties to the Eastern European nation that have pushed Russian president Vladimir Putin to prepare an invasion of Ukraine.”
Read More“Bloodshed threatens to repeat itself in Ukraine. In 2014, Putin annexed the Crimean peninsula after its citizens chose to join Russia in a disputed referendum. Russia’s annexation not only challenged Ukrainian sovereignty but challenged the post-1945 world order. But now, tensions threaten to blow. Reminiscent of the expansionist dreams of the Soviet Union, Russia appears to be on the verge of invading Ukraine once again.”
Read More“Two weeks ago, Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina’s more than 80,000 state employees will have the opportunity to use paid leave to staff public schools in the state. What is the problem in NC schools?”
Read More“Competition pressures from the increasingly crowded infotainment genre force shows to progressively lower their level of political discourse, relying increasingly on elements like conflict, sensationalization, and humor in an attempt to attract and retain this new class of viewers. This “race to the bottom” of overly simplistic political discourse driven by new political media’s incentives is still amplified by the incentives of the politicians using the mediums to engage the public.”
Read More“2022 holds an opportunity for Biden to help improve the lives of Americans and pass his policy goals. His legacy likely depends upon what he can facilitate this calendar year.”
Read More“The desire to end the seemingly never-ending pandemic has led Americans to put a lot of faith in the federal government. This can be dangerous. The United States has checks and balances and separation of powers for a reason. If these were neglected, it could set a dangerous precedent. Some businesses have already implemented vaccine requirements on their own terms or because of a state mandate; however, a federal mandate carries a heavier weight and attempts to usurp state sovereignty. After all, the 10th amendment provides the states with the authority to oversee public health, not the federal government.”
Read More“It is not just rappers like Dolph who often die before they reach old age. The premature deaths of pop artists across numerous genres is a phenomenon that has recently received more attention under an academic lens. Unfortunately, researchers have found that it is nothing new for pop artists to die young. However, some have noted that the ways in which they are dying are indeed unprecedented.”
Read More“The United States’ history with broken treaties displays a trend that has continued into contemporary times to harm and disregard the wishes, cultures, and safety of Native Americans. Native Americans today endure massive institutional and social disparities that often go unacknowledged or unknown by Americans. These disparities exist within many spheres in American society.”
Read More“Global consumers have not witnessed such high levels of inflation since the baby boom after World War II. But these fears of runaway inflation are unfounded, especially considering the nature of the post-COVID economy. Heeding the Federal Reserve’s characterization of inflation as ‘transitory,’ global inflation will fall as the international economy rebounds through the post-COVID fallout.”
Read More“Wisconsin law states the use of deadly force to be permissible when a person has a reasonable fear of death or bodily harm. Due to the defense’s claim of self-defense, the burden is on the prosecution. Therefore, they would have to prove that Rittenhouse had no reasonable fear of death or bodily harm.”
Read More“A recent report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University found that the United States has the lowest level of overall trust in the news among those 46 countries surveyed. What is the problem and how can American institutions solve it?”
Read More“Kids are only in school once, and these beginning years are formative in them becoming capable and functioning adults. In fact, the education that staffing shortages are robbing kids of is considered so fundamental that the North Carolina Constitution recognizes that "the people have a right to the privilege of education.”
Read More“The resilient infrastructure the bill provides does show action by the federal government to address climate change, something that it has largely lacked throughout the 21st century. But it is arguably less than the bare-minimum.”
Read More“After three years without a comprehensive state budget and months of negotiations between the two parties in the legislature and the governor, North Carolina finally has a budget for fiscal years 2021-2023.”
Read More“Time and time again, a self-described upstanding citizen yields to their implicit biases and perceives innocent Black and Brown Americans as threats and, emboldened by stand-your-ground philosophies, pursues and executes them; in turn, these laws jettison the central tenets of self-defense and instead reward aggression, bequeathing any citizen a license to kill anyone they deem a potential threat.”
Read More“On November 10th the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a monthly report that showed some pretty grim indicators for the U.S. Economy. Inflation, or the general increase in prices, had climbed to its highest level in nearly 30 years. From Oct 2020 to Oct 2021, prices have risen nearly 6.2 percent. This is putting strain on American consumers as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 shutdowns.”
Read More“On November 9th, the UNC’s Institute of Politics hosted a town hall meeting for the upcoming 2022 Senate Race in North Carolina. In attendance for the Democratic Party were State Senator Jeff Jackson — the front-runner of the group — former State Senator Erica Smith, Dr. Tobias LaGrone, and Dr. Richard Watkins, who just recently announced his exit from the Senate race in order to run for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. Jen Banwart was the lone Republican of the group, showing a certain level of bravery by bringing conservative views into an environment dominated by young, left-leaning college students.”
Read MoreThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in October that its investigation into NC GOP Senator Richard Burr and his brother-in-law Gerald Fauth was still underway. Burr sold $1.65 million in stock in “February 2020, just before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. The court filings by the SEC state "Among other things, the Commission is investigating whether, on February 13, 2020, Senator Burr sold stocks on the basis of material nonpublic information in violation of the federal securities laws." One of these laws in question is the 2012 STOCK Act which prohibits legislators from trading stock based on private information. Senator Burr notably voted against this bill.”
Read More
