This is a summary of important news updates from the past couple of weeks.

The Venezuela Presidential Election Shows Little Promise for the Struggling Country

On Sunday May 20, incumbent Nicolás Maduro won his second term election to continue as president of Venezuela. For years, the country has been crumbling under the weight of its financial crisis and widespread hunger. Just over the span of March and April, the Venezuelan inflation rate quadrupled from 4,966 percent to nearly 18,000 percent. The government, and especially Maduro, has been blamed for ignoring the large issues facing Venezuelans.

Ever since coming into the presidency, Maduro has spent his time expelling government leaders who disagreed with him in order to strengthen his own regime. Leaked videos even show Maduro taking a bribe of $35 million from a Brazilian construction company in 2013. The videos were leaked by the country’s ex-attorney general, Luisa Ortega, who like many others was expelled for clashing with the president.

While Maduro may have won the election, he will be facing challenges from both the United States and European Union who have called out the Venezuelan election as undemocratic and a sham. As the country faces a large economic downfall, both the US and EU are planning sanctions on the country in response to the supposedly fixed election.

The National Football League’s New Policy Regarding Kneeling During the National Anthem

Last Wednesday, the owners of the NFL voted to punish players who choose to sit or kneel on the field during the national anthem. For the past two seasons, players have been sitting or kneeling during the anthem to protest racial indignities and police brutality in America, a movement started by Colin Kaepernick in 2016. This new policy will fine players or teams who choose to protest on the field.

NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell says, “We want people to stand — that’s all personnel — and make sure they treat this moment in a respectful fashion.” While the league’s priority seems to be respecting the national anthem, players will be able to protest without punishment if they remain in their locker rooms during the national anthem.

So far, the policy has received support from President Trump who tweeted his disdain towards the protesting back in October. On the Thursday airing of “Fox & Friends,” President Trump expressed his approval of the policy and added that if a player is not standing for the national anthem while in the locker rooms, “Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”

NFL viewers are reacting fairly well to this new policy. According to a recent Yahoo Sports/ YouGov poll, 53 percent of self-described NFL viewers said they support the policy, with 32 percent opposing and 15 percent saying neither or no opinion. On the other hand, players have mixed reactions with this new policy such as Chris Long, a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. He tweeted a statement saying that “Our league continues to fall short on this issue.”

Pressure Rises as the North Korean Summit Nears

Just six days ago, President Trump called off the highly anticipated June 12 summit with North Korea in a letter addressed to Kim Jong Un. However, within 24 hours, President Trump tweeted various statements about progress between the two countries. According to news of the continued negotiations, the summit that was threatened by animosity appears to perhaps be back on. 

As June 12 gets closer, both the US and North Korea are ramping up pressure to make this summit become a reality. The United States halted new sanctions against North Korea in order to work toward continuing to implement this summit instead. While specific details of the planned summit are still unknown, the topic of nuclear weapons is certain to be discussed. This week, a group of political leaders from both countries discussed the state of nuclear warfare to begin to create a plan that hopefully both President Trump and Kim Jong Un will agree with.

Creative Commons photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125816678@N05/18883170512