News roundup: April 5 – April 27

Here are the top stories during April 5 – April 27 from Texas, the United States and around the world.

Texas:

Exon Mobile – Exxon Mobile was fined nearly $20 million for releasing 10 million pounds of pollutants into the air from 2005 to 2013 in Baytown. The finding comes because of a lawsuit filed in 2010 by two environmental protection groups. The groups say in the lawsuit that Exxon earned more than $14 million by delaying efforts to curb emissions from its Baytown plant. Exxon is considering an appeal.

ICE – Texas became the first state to pass a law making it a crime for law enforcement officers who refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senate Bill 4 passed in the Texas House at 3 a.m. following 16 hours of debate. The law makes it a criminal offense not to comply with ICE detainer requests, where potential undocumented immigrants can be held for 48 hours in local police facilities while waiting for ICE officers to arrive and detain them. SB4 also approves a ban on “sanctuary cities,” a motion that Governor Greg Abbott made one of his primary goals of 2017 this January.

Earth Day – The Texas State Fairgrounds saw the largest Earth Day event in the world. The event, Earth Day Texas, saw 100,000 attendees visiting 900 exhibitors and listening to roughly 260 speakers talk about protecting the environment. The event was organized by businessman and philanthropist Trammell S. Crow.

Tax Cut – The Texas House is scheduled to debate a franchise tax cut April 27. House Bill 28 would phase-out the franchise tax that has become unpopular with businesses, saying the tax hurts them in less-prosperous years. Critics of the tax cut say that by phasing it out, the loss of money would harm public schools and government programs.

United States:

Sanctuary Cities – U.S. District Judge William Orrick granted a preliminary injunction April 25 to the city of San Francisco and Santa Clara County. Both of the parties are suing the President Donald Trump administration over the executive order that would have cut off funding to sanctuary cities. Orrick’s move blocks the executive order for the time being. Trump has said that sanctuary cities are resulting in “immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our republic.”

Government Shutdown – Republicans in the House of Representatives brought a stopgap bill to the floor in order to keep the government from shutting down following a budget deadline of midnight April 28. The one week measure intends to buy enough time to finish talks on a $1 trillion-plus catchall spending bill meant to cover the rest of the fiscal year. Negotiations and debates on the budget have been spurred by numerous budget changes proposed by Trump including the controversial border wall with Mexico.

Execution – Arkansas carried out two executions, the first double execution in the nation since 2000, just hours apart from each other April 24. The executions come days after Arkansas ended a 12-year stay on administering capital punishment. Prior to the executions, Arkansas had not put an inmate to death since 2005.

March for Science – The March for Science took place April 22. Demonstrations in dozens of cities put the total number of attendees between 250,000 and 600,000. Marchers carried both witty and serious signs, drawing light to the importance of science and scientific research in a thriving society. The movement saw mirrored marches across the world. Organizers hope the march leads to sustained action aimed at improving scientific involvement in government policy.

International:

Korean Peninsula – Protests erupted in South Korea April 26 with the arrival of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD). South Korea’s defense ministry confirmed the arrival of THAAD saying the system was “in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threat.” Protesters suggested the arrival of THAAD signaled the U.S. becoming occupying troops. The arrival of THAAD and protests are the latest in a string of escalating events on the Korean Peninsula, straining the armistice with North Korea and relations with China in the process.

Japan – Japanese local governments have begun informing citizens of how best to respond to an imminent missile attack from North Korea. Administration in Tokyo admitted that the window between warning and impact will likely be 10 minutes. Representatives in Osaka informed citizens that their best option for survival would be to take shelter as opposed to trying to evacuate. Japan has recently developed its J-Alert system, a nationwide broadcast service that utilizes satellite, telephone and cyperspace to inform local officials of imminent attack. Officials still acknowledged that the timeframe for response is limited, with some cities closer to the Korean peninsula having only 4 or 5 minutes to react.

French Election – After a tense election, the next French president will be chosen in a run-off election May 7. The candidates, Emmanual Macron and Marine Le Pen, are currently campaigning across France to sway voters in their favor. Polls put Macron at 59 percent likely to win, with Le Pen at 41 percent. This election carries the possibility of a French withdrawal from the European Union.

Turkish Purge – Turkish authorities arrested more than 1,000 people nationwide April 26, with another 2,000 targeted for arrest. Turkish authorities say the arrests target supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, Turkey’s primary suspect for last year’s failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These arrests mark a continuation of Turkey’s purges and raids since the July 15 coup attempt. More than 100,000 people have been fired or arrested, and more than 47,000 have been charged with crimes relating to the coup. Earlier this month, there was a referendum in Turkey that allowed Erdogan to consolidate power under his office, rejoin the political party he founded, permitted him to stay in office until 2029, and remove the role of prime minister after the next election in 2019.

On the bright side:

Pope Francis – In a surprise move to everyone attending the TED 2017 Conference in Vancouver, Canada April 25, Pope Francis delivered a TED Talk that called on world leaders to act with humility, and urged people of the world to show solidarity with each other. Pope Francis recalled his family’s experience as immigrants in Argentina. “I could have very well ended up among today’s discarded people,” he said to the audience of 1,800. Pope Francis went on to scorn what he called a “culture of waste” that went beyond food and goods, one that ignored and cast aside vulnerable people. Pope Francis ended his talk with hope, saying the world needs a “revolution in tenderness.”

Also published on Medium.