The weekly news roundup is back! After a brief hiatus while I tried to figure out how balance the roundup with future career prospects, I’ve decided to bring it back with less personal commentary. Please leave your own thoughts, though!
World
- Starting yesterday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, but mutual distrust and an inability to maintain previous cease-fire attempts leave its future uncertain. In the past month, more than 1,800 Palestinians and 67 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Read more.
- A 6.1 earthquake struck China on Sunday, injuring more than 1,800 and killing almost 400. In the wake of the earthquake, 3,200 soldiers, police officers, and rescue workers have descended on the hard-hit province of Yunnan to search for survivors. Read more.
Politics
- President Obama had a press conference and acknowledged that Bush-era interrogation methods constituted torture, but asserted that Americans should take into consideration the difficult issues we faced at the time. The comments come ahead of a declassified report by Senate Democrats, which was refuted by CIA Director John Brennan last summer. The Senate and Brennan have been at odds for over a year, so the President’s caveat to the torture remarks signal a desire to cater to both sides. Read more.
- The House voted to sue President Obama for overstepping his authority in the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act. The nearly party-line vote is considered by many to be ironic because Republicans are suing the President, “to more quickly implement a part of a law that Boehner does not want implemented at all.” (That’s a quote from Ezra Klein). Read more.
Health
- Dr. Kent Brantly, one of the two Americans sickened with Ebola while working in Liberia, arrived in Atlanta Saturday for treatment, marking the first case of Ebola on U.S. soil. Dr. Brantly surprised the nation by walking out of the ambulance and into the hospital, demonstrating that he is in better shape than the public had anticipated. Despite public fears about bringing the virus to the States (recent CDC mishaps didn’t help), medical professionals are confident that the virus will remain contained. Read more.
- A new study highlights the increased number of adults getting mental-health and substance-abuse treatment under an Affordable Care Act provision that allows adults to remain on their parents health plans. Read more.
- Community Health Systems has agreed to pay a total of $98 million to settle whistleblower cases regarding admissions billing. Read more.