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Staying on top of the latest news can be tough. So tough, in fact, that we’ve made it easier by compiling the most impactful, bizarre, or downright astonishing stories each week.
Could this be the most intense week of the year so far? We’ll leave that to you to decide.
10. Paul Ryan Shockingly Announced His Retirement
It’s official: He’s out. After months of speculation surrounding House Speaker Paul Ryan stepping down after November’s midterms, Ryan made the surprise announcement on Wednesday that he would not seek reelection. His departure could lead to significant shifts in how the Republican Party is led.
Ryan was a dedicated policy expert and libertarian who dedicated himself to reforming taxation, entitlement spending, and repealing Obamacare. While he leaves Congress having achieved one of his goals, he fell short on the other two.
He also leaves as a changed man. Once known as a staunch advocate for free trade and immigration, Ryan is now recognized as the individual who supported President Trump’s dismantling of both. It’s important to note, however, that Ryan opposed illegal immigration, aligning with Trump’s stance on the issue.
Perhaps the most significant consequence of Ryan’s departure is the GOP losing another prominent libertarian. The race will now be on for the Trump-wing to replace him with someone who shares the president’s more protectionist and nationalist views.
9. The FBI Raided The Offices Of The President’s Lawyer
Was it an unjust witch hunt or the beginning of a legitimate case? That’s the burning question after the FBI shocked everyone with a surprise raid on Monday, targeting the offices, residence, and hotel rooms of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney.
Cohen has served as Trump’s legal advisor for nearly ten years, though his role with the White House post-election has been minimal. Based on a tip from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, the FBI appears to suspect that Cohen violated campaign finance laws through hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress with whom the president is alleged to have had an affair.
What’s interesting is that Mueller’s office is not overseeing the new Cohen investigation. Instead, it falls under the jurisdiction of Geoffrey Berman, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Berman, a longtime Republican, has recused himself from the case. Even if Trump were to remove Mueller in the future, his legal troubles wouldn’t simply vanish along with the special counsel.
8. South Korea’s Impeached President Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison
The downfall of South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-hye, daughter of the former Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee, reads like a dark political drama. After South Korea’s intelligence services helped her secure the 2012 election, Park used her newfound position to pressure major corporations into paying large sums to her close friend and mentor, Choi Soon-sil, a figure reminiscent of Rasputin, who held significant influence behind the scenes.
When the scandal erupted in late 2016, South Korea was engulfed by some of the largest protests in its history. Park was impeached, removed from office, and arrested. Choi was also arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison this February. Last Friday, Park faced her own fate. In an unprecedented televised sentencing, a judge imposed a $17 million fine and a 24-year prison sentence on her.
Park still has several weeks to appeal the verdict, and her conviction could eventually be overturned. However, there’s no denying that her guilty sentence marks an extraordinary fall from grace for South Korea’s first female president.
7. South Africa’s Former President Charged With Corruption
On the same day that Park received her prison sentence in South Korea, another controversial leader from across the globe was facing the start of legal proceedings. Jacob Zuma resigned as president of South Africa less than two months ago, but by last Friday, he was already standing in court for corruption charges.
Under Zuma’s leadership, South Africa plunged into an economic black hole, characterized by widespread corruption, bribery, and political favors for cash. However, the charges against him are not related to these issues. Instead, they stem from a 20-year-old arms deal that Zuma struck in the late 1990s, during which he allegedly authorized more than 700 bribes and illicit payments.
The case had originally been investigated and shelved in 2009, just before Zuma assumed the presidency. The charges were revived in 2016, and Zuma was served with a summons almost immediately after leaving Mahlamba Ndlopfu (the South African White House).
Friday’s hearing was merely procedural. The actual case will not begin until June 6, and many more hearings are expected in the future as additional charges accumulate against the former president.
6. Israel Bombed Syria
Early on Monday, a barrage of missiles struck Syria’s regime-controlled T-4 air base, resulting in 14 fatalities. The attack came shortly after a suspected chemical assault by the regime that killed at least 45 people, which quickly led to suspicions that the Pentagon was behind the strike.
However, in this case, both Assad and his Russian allies acted prematurely. By the middle of the week, it became apparent that the strike on the base wasn’t retaliation for chemical weapons use, but rather part of Israel’s broader strategy to remove Iran from Syria.
Tel Aviv has grown increasingly frustrated in recent months as Iran has expanded its presence in Syrian regime-controlled regions. Meanwhile, Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has started receiving advanced weaponry, and Syrian forces have deployed tanks to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It appears that Israeli forces needed a reason to demonstrate their capabilities, and the chemical attack over the weekend provided the perfect justification.
What happens next is uncertain. Tel Aviv views the deployment of regime forces in the Golan Heights as a direct threat to Israel. This could signal the start of a new, complicated front in the ongoing Syrian conflict.
5. Canada Experienced One of Its Most Devastating Sporting Tragedies
It’s a familiar saying: “In Canada, there’s hockey and then there’s everything else.” Even if hockey weren’t involved, Saturday’s tragedy would have still been unimaginable. A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team collided with a trailer in Saskatchewan, resulting in 15 immediate fatalities, with one more succumbing to injuries later. Fourteen others were injured in what has become one of Canada’s worst-ever sporting tragedies.
The loss was made even more heartbreaking due to the youth of the victims. Most of those who died were between the ages of 18 and 21, with one victim, Adam Herold, only 16 years old.
To add to the overwhelming grief, a mix-up in identifying the bodies left the nation in shock. Xavier Labelle, initially reported dead, was later found to be alive. The chief coroner had mistakenly identified Parker Tobin's body as Labelle’s. For Tobin’s family and friends, this confusion must have been a devastating blow.
The cause of the crash remains undetermined. Initially, the driver of the trailer was arrested, but later released without facing any charges.
4. Black Panther Outperformed Titanic at the Box Office
This column typically avoids pop culture topics, but when a cultural phenomenon like the Marvel Studios film Black Panther emerges, we occasionally make an exception.
Released at the end of January, Black Panther was initially expected to perform like any other non-Avengers Marvel film. But instead, studio executives watched as it continuously raked in more and more at the box office. This week, it surpassed Titanic’s $659 million record, securing its place as the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Though this success may be short-lived, as Marvel’s Avengers sequel, Infinity War, is expected to dethrone it by summer’s end, Black Panther has undeniably cemented itself as a cultural milestone. Much like how Easy Rider is seen as a significant film of its time, future generations are likely to look back on this one as an iconic reflection of its era.
3. The US and Russia Came Head to Head Over Syria
Remember the Syrian regime's chemical weapons attack mentioned earlier in the “Israel Bombed Syria” section? Tel Aviv wasn’t the only one alarmed. By midweek, international pressure mounted on Washington, London, and Paris to take action. By Wednesday, President Trump was personally guaranteeing that missiles would soon be heading to Syria.
The threat came at a time when tensions between the West and Russia, Assad’s allies, were already high due to the nerve agent poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the UK. In response to Trump’s tweet, a Russian diplomat vowed to either shoot down any US missiles heading for Syria or to strike US military targets in retaliation. The risk of escalation seemed so imminent that some even feared it could spiral into World War III.
As of now, the US has not followed through on Trump’s pledge to target Syrian regime forces. However, it’s known that both the UK and France are preparing military options. Could the Middle East be on the brink of another crisis? We’ll find out soon enough.
2. Mark Zuckerberg Testified Before Congress
1. Brazil’s Former President Finally Went To Jail
On April 5, a Brazilian judge ordered former president and current presidential hopeful Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (commonly known as Lula) to surrender to police. Lula, who served as president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010, had previously been convicted of corruption as part of the ongoing “car wash” investigation in Brazil.
Rather than turning himself in, Lula went into hiding. By Friday, he had taken refuge in a union headquarters, surrounded by thousands of supporters. A standoff ensued as police closed in on the building, which lasted until Lula finally surrendered on Saturday. He is now set to begin a 12-year sentence.
Lula remains one of the most polarizing figures in Brazilian politics. His time in office saw increased opportunities for the poor but was also marked by significant corruption scandals. His imprisonment has added uncertainty to Brazil’s presidential race.
