RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/July 2018

July 2018
Georgia's Constitutional Court in Tbilisi, has ruled that consumption of cannabis is legal. However it is still illegal to grow, buy and sell the weed. Over 1000 AR-15 templates for 3D printing have been sold since Friday, while New York; New Jersey; Massachusetts; Connecticut; Pennsylvania; Oregon; Maryland and D.C. attempting to block further selling. The South African ruling party is moving ahead with plans to amend the constitution to legalize land expropriation without compensation. In a delicious episode of irony, a study conducted at George Mason University, funded by the Koch Brothers, shows that Medicare for all would save the American people two trillion dollars over ten years. Bernie Sanders expressed his gratitude. The Metropolitan Police has announced that violent crime in London has stabilised, with Police Commissioner Cressida Dick specifically singling out Middle Class consumption of Cocaine as a contributing factor. Paul Manafort pleads not guilty to 18 charges of fraud and tax evasion, with the court hearing of a $21 million watch and a $15,000 ostrich leather jacket. Four Tampa, Florida paramedics are facing a disciplinary hearing after refusing to offer aid to a dying woman, believing she didn't have the money to pay for it. Facebook says it uncovered a new coordinated campaign to meddle in the midterms, leading to it removing 32 accounts and pages. UKIP leader Gerard Batten's new take on populism is to call for a boycott of Walker's (Lay's to Americans) due to its Mascot having voted Remain in the 2016 referendum. With the US no longer calling for urgent denuclearisation, North Korea has gone back to making ballistic missiles. Trump: Koch brothers are "overrated" and a "total joke" as they launch a campaign against his tariffs. DAESH kidnapped 36 women and children during terrorist attacks last week. Trump says he is willing to meet with Iranian leadership over a new nuclear deal with "no preconditions". How Silicon Valley became a den of spies. In the UK families no longer need court approval to allow patients unlikely to ever regain consciousness to die. Jeff Sessions announces that the DOJ is creating a "religious liberty task force". Official report is unveiled into Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappearance: it rejects several theories (autopilot malfunction, lithium battery explosion, mechanical fault, pilot/copilot suicide) but is no nearer explaining what happened. Trump threatens government shutdown unless Democrats give him the votes for his immigration policies, including border wall funding.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interviews Noam Chomsky on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic Party's possible future. A committee of British MPs warns that fake news is a "democratic crisis". Trump's Medicare and Medicaid administrator Seema Verma slams Bernie Sanders' Medicare-for-all proposal as "Medicare for none" (because according to her, it'll be socialism and it will hurt seniors) as it is gaining in popularity. Anthropogenic global climate change makes heat waves much more likely. Heat waves may be linked to thousands of deaths each year in the U.K. by 2050. 75 Egyptian protesters have been sentenced to death. Cuba introduces some major constitutional reforms, which include, among other things, the recognition of private property rights, the abandonment of the "advance towards a communist society," and the legalization of gender-neutral marriage. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the US Catholic Church's most prominent figures, steps down amidst a widening sexual abuse scandal. Trade tensions between the E.U. and the U.S. thaw. Some issues remain to be resolved, however, as the trade talks continue.

Russian hackers made an unsuccessful attempt to breach the computer system of Senator Claire McCaskill. An Iranian woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for removing headscarf to protest against an Islamic law requiring that women wear Hijabs. Luxembourg’s parliament is debating legislation on whether to legalise cannabis for recreational use. It has been legal for medical reasons since June. A Florida police officer has been charged with the battery of a pregnant woman in a personal dispute, which resulted in early labour. Worms frozen in Siberian permafrost for up to 42000 years have been resurrected. London Mayor Sadiq Khan insists that "middle-class parties" are the reason for the upturn in gang violence due to an increased demand for cocaine. Alex Jones' personal Facebook account has been suspended for thirty days due to ToU violations.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Trump's tweets for evidence of obstruction of justice. Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity passes a decades-long test involving the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. In other physics news, a new U.S. black hole machine particle accelerator, the Electron Ion Collider, has been given the green light. Its scientific goal is to improve our understanding of quarks and gluons.

Another Republican defects to the Democratic Party, owing to the increased radicalisation and "the misogyny, the racism, and the unethical and immoral behaviour of the current administration".

Eleven House conservatives have moved to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is supervising the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump-Russia connection. Update: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Attorney General Jeff Sessions both oppose this motion, which has been defeated, at least for now. The US embassy in Beijing was bombed. While the number of extremist crimes is in decline in Germany, the number of PIGs (aka Reichbürger) and other extremists has gone up Gwyneth Paltrow couldn’t create a dead-tree magazine version of her lifestyle website Goop, as publisher Condé Nest refuse to create one as they insisted on fact-checking all the interviewees according to an interview in the New York Times magazine. Media companies Nine Entertainment, which owns Network Nine and Fairfax which owns the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia’s newspaper of record) and The Age announces an AU$4 billion merger.

Artificial Intelligence Shows Why Atheism Is Unpopular (Warning: article isn't actually about atheism) A neuroscientist and psychologist specializing in human sleep warns of the dangers of not having enough sleep. 215 were killed in a series of DAESH suicide bombings in southwest Syria. The European Court has ruled that gene editing is Genetic Modification. A poll shows disapproval of Trump's handling of Russia and immigration, about half approving of his job on the economy, and his approval rating at 45%. What's going on in the (other) world? Huge reserves of liquid water found on Mars.

Perhaps in an attempt to boost their perceived strength, DAESH has taken credit for the Toronto shooting, running contrary to the Canadian investigation's findings so far. Georgian GOP State Rep Jason Spencer to resign after dropping his pants and yelling the n-word on Sacha Baron Cohen's satirical "Who Is America?" show. A federal appeals court has ruled that open carrying of guns is protected by the Second Amendment. Passionate Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg acknowledges that the positive effects of Brexit may take as many as 50 years to deliver. His companies' departure to Ireland last week is totally unrelated. A $12 billion bailout has been offered to the farming industry due to the effects of Trump's trade wars. UK Brexit Secretary announces that the UK plans to stockpile food in the event that they exit the EU with no trade deal. President Trump has expressed concern over the risks of Russian state interference in elections, but instead sees a Kremlin plot to win the upcoming Congressional election for the Democrats. A 15 year old in Britain convicted over a plot to murder an Australian police officer in 2015 has made an appeal for his name to be permanently kept anonymous when he comes of age. Turkey and Israel exchange fierce words over who is more like Hitler, with Sultan Recip I President Erdogan comparing Israel with Nazi Germany, and Netanyahu reminding him of Turkey's newfound dictatorship and its record with Kurds. A Dutch study into the benefits of Viagra in stimulating placental growth has been cancelled following the deaths of newborns in the testing group. An ongoing heatwave in Japan has been declared a natural disaster, as 22,000 are taken to hospital for heatstroke. A dam has burst in Laos and destroyed a nearby village. A wildfire in Greece has ravaged the tourist-heavy Rafina region, killing at least 74 people in what has been described as a "biblical catastrophe". Theresa May has taken full control of Brexit negotiations, effectively nullifying DExEU. New policies include a divorce payment of some $35 billion to the EU, with the UK's departure extended to December 2020. A Texan waiter has been fired from his restaurant job after he was accused of faking an insulting message from a customer, which got national attention. The Toronto shooting suspect who killed two and injured thirteen has been identified as Faisal Hussain, who is to have had serious mental health issues. Ivanka Trump has decided to close her fashion line, following boycotts of the business and conflict-of-interest relating to her family which prevented the brand finding foreign markets. Senior government officials have taken part in a "Turning Point USA" summit to educate young party members. Nikki Haley's seminar against political activism through trolling falls on deaf ears due to the actions of her counterparts, with Jeff Sessions instead getting applause for a "Lock Her Up" chant. It has been revealed that someone paid a casting agency to put on a fake protest outside Downing Street for the visit of the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. 463 migrant parents have potentially been deported without their children. Controversy over footage of one of French president Macron's top security aides beating a protester. A poll shows overwhelming rejection of Theresa May's plan for Brexit, along with over a third saying Boris Johnson would do a better job. Despite claims of post-Brexit prosperity, Jacob Rees-Mogg has moved a second of his companies to Ireland this year. A poster by satirical blog Scarfolk Council, advising parents to shoot their rabid children, was included in a magazine for civil servants, in a feature on the history of government communications. Planck: Final data from the mission lends support to the standard cosmological model Cuban ex-president Raúl Castro proposes a new constitution that would implement a maximum age to become and term limits for the president, open the way to legalizing same-sex marriage, and remove the word "communism" from the document. James Gunn has been fired over years-old offensive tweets unearthed by Mike Cernovich A man who fatally shot someone in an argument turned physical over a parking space will not be arrested due to Florida's "stand your ground" law. Lauren Southern hits the streets of Melbourne looking to whip up trouble for the satiation of her viewerbase, only to find that people don't give half as much of a shit about her as she'd like them to. She gets slapped with a $68,000 dollar security fee for her efforts.

The Irish Supreme Court has upheld the 36th amendment (repeal of the abortion ban) from any legal challenges, so it is ready for the president to sign it off. Also the junior coalition partner in the current government, asking for a constitutional convention (which leads to a referendum) to investigate ending religious control of schools in Ireland, which over 95% of primary and significant number of secondary schools are. Fundamentalist Protestants in the Dutch city of Alkmaar, are using special Lord’s day laws to ban an outdoor dance party De Brug Draait Door, that is due to be held on a Sunday in late August, stating that Sunday as a day of rest is being increasingly undermined. Michael Cohen secretly recorded Trump discussing payment to former Playboy model Nine were injured in a knife attack in Germany. Trump says he is ready to slap tariffs on all Chinese imports. In the aftermath of a disastrous live radio interview in which Stephen Bannon verbally abused ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, former Breitbart London editor Raheem Kassam has since been escorted out of LBC's studio for attempting to confront him. Two 15 year old Yorkshire boys who planned a Columbine-style school massacre have been sentenced to 10 and 12 years. Far-right UK party For Britain has complained to press regulators - because it was described as a minor party. The complaint was rejected. According to watchdog estimates, one out of every ten North Koreans are enslaved by the government. A list of over 500 pieces of evidence against Paul Manafort has been released. Minnesota congressman Jason "Mini Trump" Lewis is confused by allegations of misogyny, after denigrating female voters as stupid and calling supporters of birth control "sluts". Arizona congressman Paul Gosar faces criticism for taking part at a #FreeTommy speech during his visit to the United Kingdom, in which he accused the government of arresting Yaxley-Lennon to cover-up Muslim rape gangs (despite it being for contempt of court and accused rapist already being on trial). Israel has passed a law officially declaring itself "the national home of the Jewish people".

A Turkish court denies a request to release an American pastor arrested for alleged links to the PKK and the Gülen movement. The DOJ has ruled that unregistered 3D-printed firearms are legal and protected under the 2nd Amendment. Even gone, President Trump faces criticism for his visit to the United Kingdom, having lied about the Queen inspecting the Coldstream Guards for the first time in 70 years just for him. National Action members Christopher Lythgoe and Matthew Hankinson have been jailed for their role in a terror cell which planned the murder of a Labour MP. In a reversal of US policy, President Trump now insists on a softer approach to North Korean denuclearisation and there is no longer a time limit. Cochrane review study of omega-3 finds fish oil supplements (as opposed to oily fish) have no benefits for cardiovascular health. Vote Leave has been fined and reported to police for breaking electoral law. Northern Oil plans to extract hydrogen fuel from their plant's waste gases. A dozen previously undiscovered moons of Jupiter have been found, including one orbiting in a path that will likely lead to its destruction. Analysts from the International Energy Agency found that [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2018/07/04/four-new-ways-america-is-number-one-in-energy/#58119d6d6e15 in 2017, despite a massive boom in the oil and gas industry of the United States, that country led the world in reducing carbon emissions, alongside Japan and Mexico, while most other countries saw an increase in emissions. China remains the world leader in renewable energy growth]. Scottish Defence League member Peter Morgan has been found guilty of terrorism offences after police discovered a functional IED along with al-Qaeda and IRA handbooks. The European Union and Japan are entering a free-trade agreement. The United Kingdom will have her first spaceport in Northern Scotland. Reports from the OCCRP, that a Greek-based Russian has been using a rent-a-mob of football supporters to cause damage to central Skopje over the Macedonian government’s proposed name change of the FYROM. The founder of a Russian pro-gun organsation with close connection to the NRA, Mariia "Maria" Butina has been charged by the Department of Justice in spying for the Russian government in the United States. A federal judge temporarily halts deportations of migrant parents separated from their children. "I think the European Union is a foe", Trump says ahead of Putin meeting in Helsinki NASA may have accidentally burned evidence of life on Mars almost 50 years ago. Haitian prime minister Lafontant resigns after days of rioting over a plan to raise fuel prices. Ontario is reverting its sex-ed curriculum to what it had in 1998. Theresa May has revealed what President Donald Trump's "advice" on Brexit was to sue the other 27 EU states to force a No Deal rather than bother with negotiations. No wonder she turned it down. Two Georgian police officers have been put on leave due to footage of them using a coin toss app to decide whether to arrest a woman. Sectarian violence continues to gain traction in Northern Ireland, as a gang of up to 15 masked teenagers partially burn down a school for children with special needs in East Belfast in what PSNI is investigating as a hate crime. In Newry, poppy wreaths were thrown into the river. The DUP; Sinn Féin and SDLP have already condemned the violence. Iranian state media broadcasts a likely forced apology from a teenage girl arrested for posting an Instagram video of herself dancing. Israeli parliament debates over a bill that would legalize Jewish-only communities, make Hebrew the sole official language, and have judges rule based on Jewish law for cases without precedents. Opinion polls indicate that Jeremy Corbyn is now the most approved of party leader, with Conservative voters turning back to UKIP. Meanwhile, Stephen Bannon calls on Boris Johnson to challenge May's authority. A Californian woman has lost her job after a tirade of racial insults thrown at a black couple on the Freeway was recorded on Twitter. National Security official Jennifer Arangio has left the White House following clashes with Stephen Miller over inaccurate refugee and migration information. Day 3 of the Trump visit has come to a close. These protests included the pro-Trump Republicans Overseas and EDL #FreeTommy protests. Although warned by police not to cause trouble, incidents such as the harassing of Muslims; glassing a Union leader for expressing his own right to free speech; marching to Trafalgar Square with pig-themed effigies of Sadiq Khan, then attacking Police for removing them, throwing glass bottles at police and their horses; permission for the two rallies to merge was wisely refused by police due to security concerns. UKIP leader Gerard Batten hijacks the protest to have an irrelevant and totally-not-fascistic Nuremberg Recruitment Rally where he accuses the Tories and Labour of committing treason, and that hate laws prevent him declaring Mohammad and his "cult" are paedophiles and gang rapists. Another Minister has resigned. This time it's nothing to do with Brexit, but a sexting scandal. The proposed $3.9 billion Sinclair-Tribune broadcast merger is just part of a larger trend of television media ownership consolidation aided by FCC deregulation policies. Papa John’s is pulling John Schnatter's image from its marketing after reports he said the N-word. UK Counter Terrorism find that poison victims just happened to have a bottle of Russian Novichok in their house, warns public not to pick things up from the street. Timothy Trybus has formally been charged with two counts of felony hate crime recorded last week, in which he harassed a Puerto Rican woman. New information confirms that a second attempt to hack into Hillary Clinton's email server took place after then-candidate Donald Trump suggested the action. A member of the National Socialist Movement has been arrested in Nebraska after forcing a train to a halt and threatening the occupants with a gun, insisting he was going to "save the train from the black people." A Massachusetts bus driver has been fired for allegedly refusing to stop for a black customer. As violence in Northern Ireland escalates, as-yet unknown assailants throw bombs outside the homes of IRA leader Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Bobby Storey. Reuters has learnt of the Trump Administration's attempt (though ambassador Sam Brownback) to pressure Britain into releasing football hooligan Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. #FreeTommy protests are set to take place on the Saturday of Trump's visit. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price has been found to have wasted at least $341,000 in taxpayer money. In Day 2 of the Trump visit, the President makes a 180 turn, lambasting the Murdoch-owned The Sun for misrepresenting his views on Theresa May's competence over Brexit and is now firmly in favour of a US-UK trade deal regardless of the politics. In a press conference the President again decries the butchering of European cultures by immigration, drawing criticism from former President Bush. He was later criticised for refusing to follow protocol when meeting with the Queen in a potential insult, first by refusing to bow and then by insisting on leading. Husnain Rashid has been jailed for life over his own terrorist propaganda videos which called for the murder of the child Prince George. A Primary school head teacher has been banned from teaching after exposing children to propaganda from London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt. 123 were killed in two separate terrorist attacks on Pakistani political rallies. A new discovery may explain where cosmic rays come from. The "witch hunt" has caught more witches: 12 Russian GRU officers indicted by Mueller's investigation for DNC hack. Seven endangered black rhinos have died while being transported to a new wildlife reserve in Kenya. In its latest purge of fake accounts, President Trump has lost 300,000 followers, along with 71,000 for Elon Musk and 2.8 million for Katy Perry. President Trump, after presumably analysing the various issues in Africa - ethnic conflict; famine and resource shortages and political upheaval - has concluded that more guns is the only way to peace.

The UK's former Ambassador to the US has been seriously assaulted in an unrelated tube station attack (warning: distressing image). Written in Russian, a "Fuck Trump"-themed crop circle has appeared in England. Scotland's Tennent's Lager weighs in, with their new Trump-themed advertisement "Tiny Cans For Tiny Hands". Violence returns to Derry with petrol bombs thrown at police officers along with two murder attempts with guns and IEDs. Michael Fabricant, MP is quick to defend President Trump by sharing a cartoon of a Sadiq Khan balloon effigy being raped by a balloon pig, and then quickly deletes it due to widespread declarations of racism by fellow MPs. On the first day of President Trump's tour, things did not start well. He is declared a Fascist in Parliament by Dennis Skinner, drives past a 1000-strong protest, and personally offends Theresa May by saying no to a UK-US trade deal and supports Boris Johnson as a potential challenge to her authority in an interview with The Sun (she's already facing a possible No Confidence vote so that's definitely an insult). Syrian government forces have fully conquered the city where the revolt began. US President Donald Trump arrives in the UK for a 3 day working visit. FBI agent Peter Strzok's testimony before Congress about allegations of anti-Trump bias descended into partisan bickering. Jehovah's Witnesses in the EU now must ask for permission before taking down personal information. German court rules former Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont can be extradited. Papa John's founder John Schnatter resigns after admitting to using a racial slur in a media training session. Stone tools over 2 million years old found in China show the ancestors of humans migrated out of Africa hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. Following his meeting with NATO, President Trump now demands that all member countries pay 4% of their GDP, despite most members consistently failing to reach even 2%. In a usual critique of Merkel, Trump accuses Germany of getting 60-70% of their energy from Russia. In reality, while it is true that Germany imports 50%-75% of her natural gas from Russia, natural gas comprises less than 20% of Germany's energy mix. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is facing calls to resign after his campaign to forcibly return asylum seekers to their home countries resulted in an Afghan man killing himself. Controversial preacher and definitely not a sex cultist Harun Yahya has been arrested along with at least 166 followers in the latest purge in Turkey. Trade war: Trump administration threatens China with $200 billion in additional tariffs Beate Zschäpe, member of the Neo-Nazi terror group National Socialist Underground (NSU), has been sentenced to life in prison (no less than 15 years) after an intense five years in court. Continuing his pattern of pardoning people who shouldn't be pardoned, Trump pardons Ranchers Dwight And Steven Hammond. Their arrest for arson inspired the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Federal officials out west fear more standoffs due to this decision. The two decades-old state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea finally ends. An Oregonian faith healing couple has been sentenced to six years for their baby's death. Fake "wellness blogger" Belle Gibson has failed to pay a $410,000 fine for lying about being cured from cancer by "wellness" and alternative medicine and is now being prosected by the Victorian Government for contempt of court Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court nominee. The Trump administration freezes billions in payments required by Obamacare. Guess who's gone? Hint: he's a rich clown who people inexplicably like... Add breast feeding to the list of things the Trump administration hates. Local leaders are demanding tougher gun control legislation from Ottawa as a wave of gun-related homicides hits Canada. Brexit secretary David Davis resigns following major disagreements with PM Theresa May over EU customs arrangements. [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2018/jul/09/david-davis-resigns-as-brexit-secretary-live-updates. Update: also his deputies in the department Suella Braverman and Steve Baker have also resigned.] [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/09/boris-johnson-resigns-as-foreign-secretary-brexit Update: so has Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary. Remember kids, strong and stable!] Turkey sacks over 18500 state employees over alleged links to "terrorist" organizations. The North Korean Foreign Ministry calls talks with Pompeo "regrettable" and accsuses the US of making unilateral demands. Anti-gun violence protesters shut down part of Chicago freeway. Marine wildlife stands to benefit from decommissioned oil rigs on the sea floor. Greenpeace is not particularly happy with this proposal. The Kepler Space Telescope is put into hibernation to ensure is has enough fuel to send its final data. South Carolina's governor, Henry McMaster, vetoes $16 million of Medicaid money that goes to family planning for the poor, just to remove $82,000 that went to Planned Parenthood. Rebels in South Syria agree to withdraw and hand over heavy weaponry. Thanks to the recent heat wave, solar panels became the top power source in the United Kingdom, where solar power was nonexistent just a decade ago. A satellite capable of exposing polluters and volcanic activities is now in orbit. The Sentinel-5P will become fully operational for all the gases it was designed to watch this fall. Ethiopia fired its prisons chief and took three opposition groups off its "terrorist" list. American tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods kick in, leading to immediate equal retaliation; Trump now considers a $500 billion tariff to be an appropriate response. Update: Russia is joining in on adding tariffs to US goods. Shoko Asahara, founder of the Aum Shinrikyo cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other murders has been executed. Some immigrant US Army reservists and recruits who enlisted in the military with a promised path to citizenship are being abruptly discharged. Bill Shine, former co-president of Fox News, is the new White House communications director.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given permission for a Donald Trump counter-protest for his Friday the 13th visit in the form of a giant, orange, inflatable baby. Scott Pruitt has resigned as head of the Environmental Protection Agency following a series of controversies. To keep the Army on his side, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has given 16,900 soldiers a promotion. In another setback for Facebook's hate speech detection software, the Declaration of Independence has been flagged for the line "merciless Indian savages". A Christian charity in India is being investigated for baby-selling. Two suspected rhino poachers have been killed and eaten by lions in South Africa's Sibuya reserve. EU sends controversial internet copyright reforms back to the drawing board An anti-ICE protester scaled the Statue of Liberty, causing the evacuation of Liberty Island. A British-Liberian woman has been prosecuted for slavery offences after arranging for the transport of Nigerian refugees to be sold as slaves in Germany, after first subjecting them to blood rituals. A British couple was poisoned with the same substance the Russian government used on a former spy and his daughter. Controversy over a Polish law that will force over a third of its Supreme Court to step down. The Trump administration is set to undo Obama-era rules promoting diversity in college admissions. Malaysian ex-PM Najib Razak has been arrested due to allegations of massive corruption and misappropriation. The Trump administration is considering a bill that will give the Office of the President the right to change tariff rates whenever he wants to, even if it violates existing trade agreements. A Trumpist has been arrested in Alabama for taking out a gun at an Anglican sermon supporting peaceful protest, though given Alabama law this was only a misdemeanour. An Ohio man has been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack in July on behalf of al-Qaeda. Ron Paul has been criticised after he shared a Neo-Nazi poster of an East Asian; South Asian; African-American and Jew assaulting Uncle Sam in the name of Cultural Marxism. Paul insists a staff member shared it and not him. After days of drama between Merkel's CDU and Seehofer's CSU, the two parties compromise on immigration, thus sparing the country from a potential government collapse, for now. $12.6 billion of retaliatory Canadian tariffs on US imports go into effect.