It is the week of love! Or, for the single folks, a week of appreciating flying solo, or of mourning, depending on your outlook. Aside from romantic relationships though, Valentine’s Day is also for appreciating our other relationships, like those with family members. Yes, you do love your annoying little brother. Admit it. Anyway, this week we have a new report on the Middle East’s earthquake, a rapper arrested for domestic violence, Fayette County’s new recycling plan, U.S. debt continuing to grow, and Mexican immigrants seeking to vote.

February 13 – Full extent of earthquake disaster yet to be fully revealed

Tens of thousands have been found dead after cataclysmic earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria. It was one of the most destructive earthquakes in modern history. 

A historic 7.8 magnitude earthquake left devastation in its wake, killing over 36,000 people. Hundreds of earthquake aftershocks have impacted the region even after the initial earthquake. This shows that while the initial disaster may be over, Turkey and Syria both are still dealing with the consequences of the earthquake.   

The earthquakes have led to positive developments in the region, with war torn Syria opening its borders to humanitarian groups for assistance and Turkey evaluating relaxed building development procedures that led to destructive collapses. 

February 14 – Rapper Playboi Carti arrested for choking pregnant girlfriend

Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti was arrested for allegedly choking his pregnant girlfriend. Playboi Carti, whose real name is Jordan Carter, held the woman’s throat until she could barely breathe. 

Carter’s girlfriend reported to the police that she was 14 weeks pregnant at the time. This incident occurred when Carter was talking to his girlfriend about the baby, but the conversation led to an argument over a paternity test. The woman was able to get away with a witness.

During the escalated attack by Carter, he pulled his girlfriend out of the car while she was trying to press the SOS feature in the car to call the police. The police reported she had noticeable injuries around her neck, chest, and back. Carter is now charged with aggravated assault, a felony.

February 15 – Fayette County forms new partnership to help recycle waste

Starting next month, Fayette County will begin sending 20 tons of waste to a recycling plant in Alabama. This was announced on Tuesday, February 14.

The agreement is with the company Repower South, which uses waste as fuel and recycled items. This change will allow Fayette County to increase the amount of waste transferred. The waste will be collected by AmWaste from the Fayette County transfer station.

Paper, bottles, and metal cans will be sorted and reused. Paper and plastics will be used as a substitute for coal. However, some new changes will be made to what can be recycled. Cardboard and metal can still be recycled, while paper and plastic cannot be.

February 16 – Debt continues to grow, U.S. lawmakers debate borrowing cap

It is predicted that the current $31.4 trillion of debt will go up by nearly $19 trillion more in the next decade if the current economic system continues its course. To add to this, if Congress does not increase the debt ceiling by the end of this year, the government will be unable to pay its bills, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Although the country has been using the process of credit and loans for centuries, debt has become a massive issue because of the rise of interest rates. Despite the fact that both the Democratic and Republican political parties are responsible for the growing amount of debt, they continue to blame each other for it, heating up their disputes even further.

Most importantly, however, it is evident that the current direction of the economy is unstable and detrimental, and a change must be made. Currently, both political parties are disputing over what to do about it and prevent it from happening in the future. 

February 17 – Mexican political parties entice voters living in Texas

Mexican political party leaders met in Dallas, Texas, recently to launch a get-out-the-vote drive for the upcoming Mexican presidential election. 

Mexican citizens can vote in their elections abroad and the political parties of Mexico know this. About half of the immigrants in Texas are from Mexico. A small amount have registered to vote in previous Mexican elections and even fewer actually cast their vote. 

About 80% of the Mexican migrants who voted abroad in the Mexican election were from America. Some lawmakers want to increase the voting pool living in America by passing a constitutional reform to allow all descendants of Mexican citizens to vote. The Mexican government has a goal to make voting easier for all Mexican citizens including those abroad.