News Roundup 02/15/19

1. Trump Declares National Emergency

On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency to fund the southern border wall he promised during his presidential campaign. Immediately following his announcement, several political leaders and groups expressed disapproval in his decision. "Our next President should declare a #NationalEmergency on day 1 to address the existential threat to all life on the planet posed by Climate Change." Congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeted. The American Civil Liberties Union announced they will be suing President Trump for using his powers to fund a matter that is simply not a national emergency. Both Democrats and Republicans conveyed frustration over the depletion of funds for the wall. According to CBS, Congress approved over $1 billion to fund the wall this week.

Source: CBS

2. Colin Kaepernick Reaches Deal With The N.F.L.

According to the New York Times, Colin Kaepernick, former teammate Eric Reid and the N.F.L. have reached an agreement over the collusion case Kaepernick filed in October 2017. The former 49'ers quarterback accused the N.F.L. of intentionally keeping him out of the league due to his high profile protest during games. In August 2016, Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Soon after, several teammates and athletes across the world joined Kaepernick in his peaceful protest. His kneeling warranted mixed reviews from viewers. Most notably, President Trump stated his disapproval of Kaepernick and deemed it disrespectful to our troops. On Friday afternoon, it was reported that all parties involved had reached an agreement and no further comment would be made.

Source: New York Times

3. Payless Announces Closure

Discount shoe store, Payless, announced they will be closing all 2,100 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico in the coming months, on Friday, Feb. 15. Although their website is still in tact with no statement addressing their closure, the Payless online store will be shutting down too. According to CNN Business, they will begin their liquidation sales on Sunday.

Source: CNN Business

4. U.S. Aides in Venezuela Crisis

In an effort to aide Venezuela's humanitarian crisis, the United States military flew supplies to a city near the border in Colombia. The Venezuelan government has been under turmoil since their President was accused of rigging the last election in his favor to complete a second illegal term. Venezuelan military forces have halted the aide of the U.S. by blocking all supplies from entering the country.

Source: The New York Times

5. Rapper 21 Savage Released From ICE Custody

After 9 days of detainment, on Tuesday Feb. 12, rapper 21 Savage was released on a $100,000 bond from ICE custody. The rapper was arrested and charged with overstaying his visa on Feb. 3. Born Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in London, England, 21 Savage has recently used his platform to criticize the government's policies on immigration. Once news broke that the Atlanta rapper was in fact an immigrant many speculated this is what led to his arrest. 

Source: Fader