Harvey Weinstein Accusations Reveal Disturbing Practices
October 5
Early in October, a New York Times investigation revealed specific accusations of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, some of which date back to 1990. A few days later, other actresses, including Angelina Jolie, made similar claims. Weinstein’s spokesperson denied several of these accusations, but Weinstein has yet to make a personal public statement.
As a result of these claims, Weinstein’s was fired from his company, expelled from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and released from his publisher. But beyond the spotlight of Hollywood, women in other industries claim to share similar experience, posting their stories through the rapidly spreading hashtag, #MeToo.
An Imminent End to ISIS?
Mid-October
US military operations are beginning to settle in Raqqa, the jihadist’s self-proclaimed capital, and ISIS is beginning to retreat. Although a formal victory has not been announced, this apparent success, along with the defeat of ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, shows substantial progress. President Trump credits much of this success to his administration’s new “rules of engagement.”
California Wildfires
Early-Mid October
Historically destructive wildfires across Northern California forced dozens of thousands of residents to evacuate and set ablaze thousands of acres in wine country. The record heats supplemented with substantial wind speeds bolstered the fire’s destructive capabilities, but weather experts also cite California’s dry vegetative fuel brought upon by the recent years of drought as another factor to the destruction.
Controversy also surrounded speculations that illegal immigrants started the fire; however, these accusations remain baseless and have been declared false by the local authorities, who claim the cause of the fire is still unknown.
Controversy Arises From Trump’s Condolences
In a display strikingly similar to past feuds with military families, President Trump was accused of callous remarks to the widow of Sergeant La David Johnson, who died in an Oct. 4 attack in Niger. The President allegedly told Mrs. Johnson, “ [Sgt. La David Johnson] knew what he signed up for,” although he readily disputes those charges, insisting they had a “very nice conversation.”
As the administration spirals into a flurry of arguments and contention, the FBI continues to investigate the ambush in Niger that cost Sgt. Johnson his life.