Cramm for 10/19/18

THE HIGHLIGHTS


​All eyes are on the migrant caravan.

TELL ME MORE.
 Every so often, a group of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America band together to travel to the US. Hint: this happened last April, when a caravan of around 1,000 migrants - the majority from Honduras - made their way to the US-Mexico border. Prez Trump was not happy about it. And threatened to cut foreign aid from Honduras if they didn’t stop the caravan from reaching the US. Then said ‘you know our trade deals? Forget them’ to get Mexico involved, too.

WHAT’S THE LATEST?
Round two. Days ago, news reached the US that a caravan of up to 4,000 people was heading to the US-Mexico border from Honduras. And like before, Trump was not happy. He threatened to cut tens of millions of dollars in aid from Honduras unless they worked to put a stop to the caravan. Then reminded Mexico that their new trade deal - the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement - doesn’t have to stay in place. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

WHAT’RE PEOPLE SAYING?
Hours ago, the Mexican gov said ‘we’ve got a plan’ and got in touch with the United Nations refugee agency to help them deal with the migrant caravan. The UN will reportedly step in and talk with the migrants to figure out “legitimate” asylum claims. The Trump team is already on board.

SO…?
This is another case of the Prez showing tougher immigration rhetoric than past admins. TBD on the long-term effect it’ll have on the US.

THE ACTION


​POLITICS: Everyone is still talking about Jamal Khashoggi, the prominent Saudi journalist known for criticizing the Saudi leadership. He suddenly disappeared last week after walking into his country’s consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials - and much of the world - are pointing fingers at Saudi Arabia for allegedly murdering Khashoggi. Leading world leaders to pull out of the country’s big financial conference, which takes place next week. And recently, Treasury Sec Steve Mnuchin followed their lead. No word yet on this from Saudi Arabia. In other news, Prez Trump is under fire after he gave the thumbs up to a congressman for assaulting a reporter.

WORLD: Recently, the Afghan gov announced that it’d be delaying parliamentary elections in its Kandahar province. Reminder: yesterday, Kandahar’s police chief was assassinated in an attack claimed by the Taliban - a group that’s terrorized Afghanistan for decades. The province’s intelligence chief was also killed. Now, Kandahar is expected to head to the polls next Saturday - a week after the rest of the country votes. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, recently, it came out that Pope Francis got an invite from Kim Jong Un... to head to North Korea. And is reportedly considering it. North Korea Summit, part 2.

USA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some news. Yesterday, the group announced that a “mild winter” is on the way for much of the US. Aka you’ll be seeing lots of “above-average” temperatures on the weather app. Think: the Pacific Ocean is expected to face an El Nino, when water temperatures go up up up. Meaning the overall temperature of the US is expected to rise, too. The weather outside is delightful. Speaking of which, the Boston Red Sox are heading to the World Series. They’ll either face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Milwaukee Brewers. Home run.

WHAT TO KNOW


“The Nanny:” the show that could get a reboot…with Cardi B. I Like It.
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SAY WHAT?


“I hope my child can have a better childhood than I did” - a man, talking about why he built his dog - yes, his dog - a half a million dollar house. Ruff life.

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