This Week In News Audio: At Least You Had A Better Week Than Rex Tillerson
There’s a lot of news to go through this week — and every week. So, to get through all of it, we’ve put together a Weekly Roundup to help fill you in on all the news and analysis that you need for the week.
Happy Friday, everyone, and this week we’re focusing on the only story that matters: the breakup of Zigi (former third-best One Direction member Zayn Malik and model Gigi Hadid). This relationship is perhaps best memorialized in the extremely strange music video for Pillowtalk from Zayn’s misguided solo album. Unfortunately, there is other news to get to: Betsy Devos’ widely discussed 60 Minutes interview, Rex Tillerson’s firing, and the national student walkouts to protest gun violence! Let’s recap the many things that happened this week and preview what to look for next.
TL;DR: Rex Tillerson is out and next week students will take part in the March For Our Lives.
WYD Betsy: Betsy DeVos sat down for an interview with 60 Minutes after being criticized for her actions during her visit to Stoneman Douglas High School. In it, she told Lesley Stahl that she has “not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming” and struggled to answer questions about schools in her home state of Michigan, apparently alarming White House officials.
Where Do Broken Hearts Go (asking for Zayn and Rick Saccone): Voters in Pennsylvania’s 18th district headed to the polls to cast their ballots in a special house election. Democrat Conor Lamb is the apparent winner in a district that Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016 but will not exist come November. To hear more about some of the biggest upcoming midterm races and catch up on the news from Pennsylvania, study for the midterms.
Rex, You’re Fired: Rex Tillerson was fired (apparently he found out on Twitter and while on the toilet). CIA Director Mike Pompeo is set to take over for Tillerson in the midst of talks about a meeting with North Korea.
Trump, Meet California: This week, Trump traveled to California to look at designs for the proposed border wall (he really wants it to be see-through), a week after the Justice Department announced that it is suing California.
The Children Are Our Future: This week, students around the nation staged a walkout to protest gun violence after the shooting in Parkland, FL that left 17 dead.
Stephen Hawking Dies At 76: On Wednesday, iconic physicist and author Stephen Hawking died at his home in Cambridge, England.
Things You Should Have Listened To But Didn’t: The daily news briefs! More specifically, The Daily’s two-part series on Leopoldo López, Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leader. KQED’s The Bay, which is quickly climbing the ranks of my must-listen podcasts, also had two great episodes this week: one on last week’s shooting at the veterans home in Yountville and another on two realities of gun violence at Bay Area schools.
You should also listen to this week’s episode of Dirtcast, which is about the Korean dramas that raised me and makes a great reference to Britney Spears’ song Lucky, the best and most underrated song from the only pop star who matters.
And Finally…
This week, Marco Rubio proposed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would make Daylight Saving Time year-round. I will do anything not to lose an hour of sleep, so maybe this is good, but my main hope is that the next piece of legislation is to ban Peeps, the worst candy (if you can even call such an abomination candy) mankind has ever created.
-Meghan Crowther, News and Talk Editor
