RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/May 2019

May 2019
Colorado governor signs gay conversion therapy ban New Hampshire has become the twenty-first state to abolish capital punishment. British Columbia [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/zero-emission-vehicles-2040-b-c-1.5155274 has passed the law requiring the sale of all vehicles in the province be emissions-free. This is one of the toughest emissions law in North America.] Due to poverty, guns, and isolation, middle aged white males dominate the suicide demographics. The Satanic Temple advises its members they can claim religious exemption to Indiana's fetal burial laws Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ted Cruz form an unexpected alliance to propose a lifetime ban on former Congress members becoming lobbyists. A court in Missouri to decide the fate of that state's only abortion clinic. In the "Trump is a pathetic manbaby" category: USS John McCain ordered to hide its name from the president's view with tarps to avoid reminding him of his late rival. (Update: It isn't even named after the Senator). [https://www.rferl.org/a/ngering-anti-corruption-crusaders-russia-proposes-banning-access-to-land-registry/29968557.html A new bill is being put forward in the Duma which will restrict the releasing and dissemination of information that is held on the national land registry. Critics of the new bill say that it is designed to frustrate anti-corruption activists and stop them trying to prevent oligarchical land grabs.] Yugoslav Wars 2: Electric Boogaloo as ethnic tensions rise in Bosnia Private prison staff have been spying on inmates inside restrooms and showers Smithsonian appoints its first black secretary China blocks Wikipedia nationwide without warning in a likely attempt to suppress information on the Tiananmen Square Massacre on the eve of its 30th anniversary. B.C. Green Party introduces legislation to ban conversion therapy Humans causing shrinking of nature as larger animals die off Colorado governor signs bill capping insulin co-pays to $100/mo to shield its citizens from skyrocketing prices. Hawaiian surfer dies in shark attack, first such case since 2015 Protesters in Hong Kong demand Chinese government be held accountable for the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Teva Pharmaceutical pays $85 million to the state of Oklahoma to avoid litigation over claims that the company intentionally exacerbated the nation's ongoing opioid crisis. Ireland has voted by one of the largest margins on record 82.1% to 17.9%, to liberalise the country's divorce laws. Divorce was only legalized (and narrowly at that 50.28% to 49.72%) in Ireland in 1995! One of the next products that could receive a hike in tariffs by President Trump in the current US-China trade war, are video game consoles such the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4. Currently they are at a 10% tariff, but they could go to full 25% tariff. The government is facing the possibly of a legal challenge in the courts, after reports of hundreds of cases of non-British Europeans living in the UK having ‘systemic denial’ of suffrage in the current European parliamentary elections. Isn't it IronArk? The Ark Encounter, Ken Ham's flagship Noah's ark experience in Kentucky, has recently sued their insurance provider... over rain damage. In his presidential inaugural speech, Volodymyr Zelenisky is trying to curb any cult of personality of himself [https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/prezident-ce-ne-portret-volodimir-zelenskij-zaklikav-chinovn-55497 by stopping the display of portraits of the president in official buildings. Instead he has asked for displays of the person’s children, as a thinking point.] Trump declares emergency to expedite arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE The right-wing populist plan to destroy Europe Having established itself as a mainstream political party, Spain's "" movement is to change its focus away from opposing Catalan independence to opposing gay marriage, transgender issues and bestiality, which it insists are all supported and encouraged in schools. Theresa May announces her resignation, set for 7 June. Leaked private chat logs from the alt-right extremist group 'Proud Boys' shows members plotting violence at rallies. Looks like they're not "just a drinking club" after all. Never let the mask slip. The person behind "Blacks for Trump", "Catholics for Trump" and a dozen similar Facebook pages that push Islamaphobia and anti-Soros conspiracy theories is not Catholic or black. A 23-year-old trans woman was shot dead in Texas—just a month after she was beaten in public Austria's Chancellor Kurz calls for early elections after vice chancellor resigns over alleged corruption video Mass grave in Poland embodies the violent beginning of the Bronze Age AI is now able to convincingly imitate the voices of real people as well, as it did to Joe Rogan House passes Equality Act to increase protections for sexual orientation and gender identity German parliament votes to condemn BDS as antisemitic. Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage in first for Asia Chelsea Manning sent back to jail after refusing to testify before a grand jury again Officials: Camp Fire, deadliest in California history, was caused by PG&E electrical transmission lines

Alabama's governor signs an abortion law that restricts abortions even in the cases of rape or incest. Doctors in Alabama who perform abortions could possibly face 10 to 99 years in prison. New Ebola epidemic "out of control" in northeastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, made worse by civil war. Already 1000 dead, communities are failing to support public health actions to prevent its spread, clinics are being attacked, and it threatens to be as serious as the outbreak in west Africa in 2013-16. Theresa May will put her Brexit deal to a vote—for the fourth time Archaeological survey of submerged Doggerland underway Carbon dioxide levels hit new landmark at 415 ppm, highest in human history UN report: 1 million species at risk of extinction Prosecutors are to reopen an investigation into an allegation of rape against Julian Assange. San Franciso Police raid home of journalist in reporting death of public defender Under new climate change rules, Trump Organization could face up to $2.5 million dollars in fines 44 states have accused 20 pharmaceutical companies of conspiring to fix prices. Investigations by the TV channel RTL, found that hundreds of products are incorrectly sold as organic. Plus, it also found that as many as 1 in 10 Dutch organic producers have broken the country's rules about organic standards. Chelsea Manning released from jail on contempt charge. Only 10 mins by foot from the famous Temple Bar in Dublin, The Virgin Mary, the city's first alcohol-free pub opens on Capel Street. Radio host is fired by the BBC after tweeting a photo of a chimp with a caption saying it was royal baby Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the first person of African American heritage to be born into the British royal family. Progressive Christian Rachel Evans dies at the young age of 37, she will be missed. Denver becomes the first city to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms. Doctors suggesting vaccination to their patients are "Sorcerers" according to Texas Lawmaker. Ohio legislature considering anti-abortion bill that, among other things, demands the entirely fictional medical procedure of "re-implanting ectopic pregnancies." Two Saudi sisters who fled to Georgia, to escape their male guardians who threaten to kill them for disobeying them, have received Georgian travel documents to enable them to leave the country and seek asylum elsewhere. Allegations afoot that specialists connected to Putin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, [https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-05-07-exclusive-did-putins-chef-attempt-to-interfere-in-south-african-election/ are trying to interfere in the current South African general election. The aim is to support the current ANC government, and diminish the opposition centre-right Democratic Alliance and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters.] Newly signed Georgia law prohibits abortion after 6 weeks, often before many women even know they're pregnant A Polish woman faces up to 2 years in prison for photoshopping an LGBT pride rainbow onto a portrait copy of the "Black Madonna". Key portions of Trump's tax returns leaked, showing Trump was in deep financial trouble back in the 1980s Yet another mass shooting, this time in Colorado Two Reuters reporters freed in Myanmar after more than 500 days in jail. Gerard Batten announces he will step down as leader of UKIP on 2 June, in order to trigger a leadership election. He has not stated if he will seek reelection to run UKIP. Note: He had stated his intention to do this when elected leader of UKIP back in April 2018, having been the then interim leader. Police solve 47 year old murder case "Human society under urgent threat from loss of world's biodiversity" Turkey is to hold fresh elections in Istanbul, following government claims of corruption. The improbable comeback of Erik Prince An assembly of 3,200 Afghans called for a ceasefire between Taliban and Afghan forces and an "orderly" withdrawal of foreign troops. The assembly, which includes 900 women, also wants the freedoms and rights put in place since the end of the Taliban's rule in 2001 to be maintained. The Trump administration is eager to reduce U.S. forces, currently numbering at about 14,000, in Afghanistan. The State of Illinois is considering a bill that would allow the possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana and five plants by individuals aged 21 or older. Lawmakers want to use the tax revenue from this industry to rejuvenate communities "devastated" by the War on Drugs. The Trump administration rolls back Obama-era offshore drilling safety measures which were implemented to prevent a repeat of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Minnesota governor repeals law protecting marital rapists from prosecution. Astronomers may have detected black hole swallowing neutron star for the first time. New Conscience rule protects health care workers who refuse care for religious reasons. Whether it's refusing to perform abortions or operations on LGBT individuals Three-eyed snake found on Australian highway. Facebook bans extremists Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Nehlen, Paul Joseph Watson, and Laura Loomer for being "dangerous." Trump reacts by by supporting the banned account holders and whining about his political opponents. Health Canada announces that plain tobacco packaging will be introduced on November 9th, in an aim to cut the number of smokers to 5% in 2035. The 2,862 new words added to the latest edition of the Official Scrabble Words book include "agender", "cisgender", "genderqueer", "transperson", the gender-neutral pronoun "ze","antifa", "antivaxxer", "incel" and "mansplaining". Scientology's cruise ship quarantined off the coast of St. Lucia after measles outbreak. Oh dear, how sad, never mind. New Denisovan jawbone found in Tibetan cave Bill Barr defiant amidst calls to resign due to deliberate misleading of American people over the Muller report Defence secretary Gavin Williamson has become the fallout guy in the scandal in leaking a report over using Huawei equipment in the UK’s 5G networks. Penny Mordaunt has replaced him, becoming the country’s first female defence secretary. In surprising news that shocked everybody the world over, people are rioting on May Day, and also having some pastoral looking celebrations