April 2019
Trump’s Reaction to the Mueller Report
By: Shrihan Dadi

The full Mueller report on Mr. Trump and his “involvements” with Russia was recently
released. The report details information about America expected full details about the
investigation and the Democrats were looking to find dirt that they could use on Mr. Trump.
Their current evidence rests on Trump’s history of Russian contacts, abuse/assertion of
power, and hush payments. However, Mr. Trump himself seemed to have no anxiety at all,
even pleading that he was “having a good day.” In fact, Mueller himself stated that he
couldn’t find any possible obstruction of justice
by Mr. Trump, stating that “no criminal conduct
occurred.” Mueller’s team knew that the Trump
campaign would benefit from Russian help but
found that the campaign didn’t take the wrong
steps to do so. Attorney General Barr was the
first to receive the report, but he decided to
make the report public after pleas from
Congress. As a matter of fact, Congress can
continue to investigate Trump with the sole
intent to protect the administration of power. In conclusion, Trump’s reaction to the report
was somewhat expected, given his initial reaction before when the full report wasn’t made
public.
Dinosaurs Were Wiped Out by a Catastrophic Failure of Natural Events but
Could the Same Happen to us?
By: Arya Bharti

The modern leading theory that palaeontologists have about the extinction of
the dinosaurs is that a meteor around 6 miles in length hit somewhere off the
coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, there's even a
town named after it: Chicxulub. The meteo raised up dust and ash into our
atmosphere, blocking out the sun for over a decade. Without the sun, food
chains slowly died out as herbivores starved without plants. Carnivores soon
found themselves in the same situation and over 75 percent of species at the
time died out. This mass extinction is now known as the K-T (Kreide Tertiary)
event, one of the five biggest mass extinctions the world has ever seen. But the
meteor wasn’t the only thing that lead to the dinosaurs downfall. Around the
same time as the K-T
event, volcanoes in
modern day Asia,
specifically India, were
spewing out over a million
cubic kilometres of lava.
Together, rising levels of
sulphur and carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere, which
changed the climate and
caused global acid rain.
Meanwhile, a slowing of undersea tectonic activity led to one of the most rapid
periods of falling sea levels in the history of the planet, devastating coastal
ecosystems. This was a species that had ruled the earth for over 100 million
years, but we’ve only been here for 200,000 years. We are already choking
ourselves by polluting and littering where ever we go. Carbon dioxide levels are
already on the rise, melting the polar ice caps making storms more powerful
than ever before. Together we can still help save humanity before it’s too late.
Cobra Kai
By: Sumant Anantha

After Karate Kid (1984) was released, a sequel was created; it was hosted on
YouTube Red. The name of the sequel is Cobra
Kai. The series revolves around the antagonist
from karate kid. In this case, the antagonist
from back then is the protagonist. The first
season was released on YouTube Red on May
2nd 2018 and the second season was released
on April 24th 2019. Both of the seasons are
magnificent in plot and acting. The show received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and
8.9 on IMDb.

US Measles Outbreak
By: Pavitra Madala

Just four months into the year, 626 cases of measles have been reported in the
United States, with New York having the highest
number of cases. That is 42 less than the record of 667
cases in 2014, which is the highest number after the US
declared the elimination of measles in 2000. According
to officials, the outbreak originated in an
ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in October when
an unvaccinated child became infected while visiting
Israel. There have been almost 4000 cases of measles in Israel since March 2018,
and the number continues to grow. Gradually, other unvaccinated people have
gotten measles while visiting other countries as well. According to the World
Health Organization, Ukraine has reported 72000 cases of measles in the past
year, which the highest number of any country. Measles is an endemic in many
countries. It is brought into the country when an unvaccinated person enters the
country from a place the virus is transmitted.
SpaceX Spacecraft Undergoes “anomaly” Says Scientists
By: Harvik Kolla

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft suffered a problem during a test launch by what the
company said was an “anomaly” during tests of its engines
on April 20. This setback has delayed the company’s plan to
fly a test flight later this year. The problem happened
during testing of the SuperDraco thrusters used as part of
the launch system for the Dragon spacecraft. These
thrusters use nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine propellants.
Each thruster is capable of producing about 16,000 pounds
of force of thrust. SpaceX did not disclose what Dragon
vehicle this happened to, though it is safe to say it was most likely the spacecraft that
flew the successful Demo-1 mission in March. SpaceX planned to fly that spacecraft
again in an in-flight test.That test was expected to take place this summer before this
anomaly. Now it is postponed to after the fall. This will revolutionize the way spacecraft
are made and galaxies are explored.

Samsung Galaxy Fold: More Waiting Time

By: Harvik Kolla

Samsung will not launch its innovative and expensive Galaxy Fold on schedule. The
company confirmed that the $1,980 device will not be released
to stores on Friday the 26 as planned due to reports of the
device breaking for some early users. The company also
reportedly postponed launch events in Hong Kong and
Shanghai over the weekend. Last week, reviewers such as
Unbox Therapy and Marques Brownlee, experienced issues
with the 4.6-inch phone, which opens up into a 7.3-inch mini- tablet, such as broken
hinges and screens after the protection was removed. Samsung stated the following “
We pledge to strengthen the display protection and "enhance the guidance on care and
use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out
of their Galaxy Fold." The Samsung Galaxy Fold is not just another expensive
smartphone, it changes the efficiency and compatibility of the modern day smartphone.
This is a major step in technology as it allows a smartphone to turn into a tablet making
it a vital component of our busy daily lives.
Ban On Baby Gene Editing
By: Sruthi Anne

Many researchers want a temporary 5-year ban on the gene editing of

babies. “We call for a global moratorium” on changing the genes in sperm,
eggs or embryos “to make genetically modified children,” says the
researchers. These researchers are coming from 7 different nation and are
presented their proposal in the March 14 ​Nature.​ First, they argue that
editing may not be safe enough yet. Another great worry is that changes to
the sperm, eggs and embryos can be later inherited by the children of the
treated patients. The proposed ban would last 5 years to give time for public
education and debates. This would give time for scientists and researchers
to discover more on gene editing. Some
researchers have previously called
making gene-edited babies
“irresponsible.” A 2017 report
commissioned by the U.S. National
Academies of Sciences and Medicine, as
international conferences on human
genome editing, concluded that heritable
gene editing is not ready for clinical use and should wait until the technology
develops and there is public consent on allowing it. Still, those concerns
didn’t stop Chinese scientist Jiankui He from editing DNA in embryos that
resulted in the birth of two baby girls last year. Another woman was
reportedly pregnant with a gene-edited baby at the time of He’s
announcement in November. Russ Altman, a bioengineer and geneticist at
Stanford University, says it may be easier now to get a ban to stick after He’s
neglect. “It will be harder to find a harbor of safety” for researchers who
violate the ban, Altman says. “Now a ban will have a bigger weight of
scientific credibility, and would be more likely to be obeyed.”
The Paris Agreement
By: Amuktha Dasari

The Paris Agreement is a contract between all the countries in the United Nations
to take up the common cause of combating climate change and adapting to its
effects, along with aiding less developed countries to make these changes as well.
The main goal of the Paris Accords is to combat the global climate change by
responding and keeping a global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees
Celsius. It also aims to increase countries’ ability to adapt to the impacts of
climate change, with the economy, infrastructure and technology. The Paris
Agreement has many elements that work together to combat the rising global
temperature, but it is especially important to educate the public on climate
change and its effects, as these are the people who will be affected by it. In
addition, providing financial support to developing countries will balance the
mitigation and adaptation aspects of the agreement, and allow companies who
already have a leg up to help the others. Lastly, by assessing each countries’
current improvements, we can see
what we can do better to combat
specific warming, as well as make
sure every country is upholding
their end of the agreement. The
current administration wishes to
withdraw from the Paris Accords,
arguing in favor of a nationalistic
sovereignty and strengthening our sole economy. The United States is the world’s
second largest polluter, so pulling out from the deal to pursue our own economic
interests and ignore the ecological impacts could result in the reversal of
everything the Accords stood for. Many other political leaders provide outspoken
opposition to the decision. Under the accords, the US was supposed to cut its
greenhouse gas emissions significantly and commit up to 3 billion dollars in aid.
Although backing out of the deal may seem good to save that much money in the
short term, the long term repercussions will lead to more money lost, as well as a
less healthy planet.