Welcome back, Panthers, to our first full week of school this semester. With the many, many snow days we had, I am sure your classes are jam packed with work as teachers try to make up for lost days. Nonetheless, here are this week’s KICs. We start off the week with a fire in Paris, drones in the east coast, Georgia senators discussing spending, (local KIC), and finally, Trump’s executive orders.
World – Fire in Paris may lead to tower complete collapse
A fire broke out early Monday at Paris’ 12th district town hall, severely damaging the 19th-century building’s bell tower but causing no injuries. Around 150 firefighters extinguished the fire by morning, though authorities warn the bell tower is at risk of collapse.
A safety zone has been established, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo commended firefighters and assured that public services will continue in the nearby 11th district town hall. The 12th district building, constructed in 1876, features a 118-foot-high bell tower.
Nunez said that the fire broke out at 3:20 a.m. mainly in the roof of the structure. Security has surrounded the tower in the event of the bell tower’s collapse.
National – Mysterious drones cause havoc to New Jersey and other East Coast communities
Last year, it was reported that a large amount of drones could be seen flying over New Jersey. This caused panic and commotion, forcing authorities to shut down the airport. New York Stewart International Airport was closed for about an hour due to the drone activity.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew explained that the drones might have belonged to Iran. Several New Jersey government’s wrote to Joe Biden at the time to quickly take action and deescalate the situation. Gov Phill. Murphey wrote specifically for congress to enforce laws that might better help detect and deal with unmanned systems.
Biden’s administration concluded that there should be a reduced amount of worry because the drones were found to have been conducting legal aviation activities. They explained that there is no threat to civilization.
State – Georgia senators are concerned about federal funding pause
During a Tuesday briefing at the White House, the Trump administration declared that a federal funding freeze was needed in order to procure adequate funding necessary to execute Trump’s recent orders. The freeze is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Tuesday and has caused widespread confusion and panic due to the abruptness of the decision.
Georgia Senators John Ossoff and Rapheal Warnock agree that this pause threatens the inner workings of the state of Georgia. State funded entities that support education, healthcare, public safety, and housing will be compromised due to the onset of this sudden freeze. In the coming month, workers in federally-funded programs are concerned that they will not be paid and those that rely on housing vouchers are unsure if they will be able to pay next month’s rent.
Consequences will arise immediately after the decision is finalized. Chaos is already breaking out due to the anxiety about how this decision will temporarily affect trillions of dollars within the US.
Politics – Trumps executive orders are lining up with Project 2025
Since the inauguration last week, Trump has taken action and signed multiple executive orders. Some of these orders seem similar to Project 2025.
Out of the 56 orders made this week, 36 have been found to correlate in the “Mandate for Leadership” for the next Republican president. For instance, last week, Trump suggested to his administration that the nation’s primary disaster response agency could simply go away. This was shocking due to it being talked about two years ago in the project.
Some of Trump’s orders, like the TikTok ban, are going against the project. He is still making many orders explicitly described in Project 2025, which he claims to not have read.