We here at The Echo know it’s hard to keep up with the news. With so much going on, it can often be stressful to stay informed on the most recent stories. We want to help. Here’s what you may have missed last week.

Monday – 10/9

• The EPA officially signals its intent to repeal Barack Obama’s signature piece of climate policy: The Clean Power Plan. The plan itself was never put into effect after being put on hold by the Supreme Court pending a court battle. Donald Trump’s EPA will not continue that battle. The plan would have set regulations that restricted the carbon emissions of power plants.
• Donald Trump sets new hardline demands for a deal with Democrats on DACA. The new demands call, in part, for funding for the proposed Mexican border wall.
• One of the most devastating wildfires in recent history begins to rage through northern California, causing deaths and prompting mass evacuations.
• Harvey Weinstein faces scathing criticism from Hollywood stars and politicians alike after reports of decades of sexual harassment emerge.

Tuesday – 10/10

• The United States men’s soccer team suffers a humiliating defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, losing its opportunity to attend the World Cup in Russia next year.
• Donald Trump refers to Republican senator Bob Corker (R-TN) as “liddle” on Twitter amidst an escalating personal feud which involved Corker referring to the White House as an “adult day care center.”
• A majority of Puerto Rico still does not have running water nor electricity as the Trump administration declines to renew its waiver of the Jones Act, which prevents foreign ships from unloading on Puerto Rican ports.

Wednesday – 10/11

• The Boy Scouts of America announces that it will accept girls in a historic move for the organization.
• Donald Trump threatens to rescind NBC’s broadcasting license over its report that Trump requested a “tenfold” increase in the United States’ nuclear arsenal. While the network does not hold a federal license, individual NBC stations do.
• The United States could pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — a move that could debilitate the global economy.
• A bipartisan group of senators, including Senator John McCain (R-AZ), criticize Donald Trump for missing a key deadline regarding a sanctions bill passed by a veto-proof majority in Congress.

Thursday – 10/12

• Donald Trump signs an executive order allowing the sale of cheaper health insurance plans with less benefits that can also be sold across state lines. Republicans hail the move as an expansion of consumer choice, while Democrats warn that it will undercut the current insurance market, leaving a greater proportion of sick people on current plans and driving up costs.
• The House of Representatives approves a $36.5 billion aid package for areas recently struck by hurricanes and wildfires. The package still faces passage in the Senate and the President’s signature.
• Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah sign a reconciliation deal brokered by Egypt, in what could be the first step towards joint control of Gaza.

Friday – 10/13

• Donald Trump decertifies the JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal. The deal now goes to Congress, where it can be passed through with or without additional amendments. The Trump administration has the capacity to offer these amendments itself, but it argues that congressional passage would give the amendments more legitimacy on the world stage. Such amendments would likely not be accepted by Iran. Additionally, the possibility exists that it will not be passed at all, prompting a US withdrawal from the deal. However, even if the US were to withdraw, the deal itself would remain in place, as the five other nations who negotiated the deal would not follow the US’s action.
• In his latest move to undermine Obamacare, Donald Trump cuts off the government’s payment of subsidies to health insurers under Obamacare, otherwise known as Cost Sharing Reductions. The subsidies were designed in order to keep premiums down, yet Republicans argue that they are unconstitutional as only Congress possesses the “power of the purse.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has analyzed that cutting off CSRs would end up costing the government more money in the long run.
• Fireworks are banned in the Indian capital, New Delhi, during the Diwali holiday this year, as last year’s display left a poisonous smog over the city that did not subside for ten days.

That’s all for last week’s news. Weekly News Roundups go up every Sunday night. We hope you have a great week.