Top News for the Week

International News

Several companies have decided to pull their business from Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine. Companies, like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Shell, have shut down several business establishments in Russia in support of Ukraine. Social media companies Instagram and Facebook have banned all use in Russia, leaving the country in global isolation.

Read about what companies have stopped business in Russia here.

National News

State attorneys general have started a nationwide investigation over the highly proclaimed, Tik-Tok. Tik-Tok is a Chinese owned social media app loved by millions of people around the world. This video content platform is starting to take a turn for the worse though, as an investigation is launched to search for evidence leading towards an impact on mental health in our youth. Several states have jumped on the investigation bandwagon.

Read more about the investigation here and here.

First gay police chief in Fort Lauderdale, Florida fired over priority minority police officers. Larry Scirotto was an openly gay police officer chief who valued putting minority groups first compared to the majority population of straight, heterosexual males. Scirotto has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city following his departure and has hired a legal team.

Read more about Larry Scirotto’s legal case here.

President Joe Biden has officially banned imports of Russian oil into the United States. Stopping Russian imports means gas prices will rise in the United States, as they already have, and the United States has to rely on other sources for crude oil. President Joe Biden believes that this action is positive and will “deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”

Read more about Biden’s ban here.

Florida, Iowa, and Texas have all recently either passed laws or introduced legislation aimed at the LGBTQIA+ community within their states. Florida passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that restricts education in schools, Texas is restricting youth transgender kids, and Iowa is banning transgender athletes from playing their chosen sport. All three bills have a restricting effect on the education of LGBT youth. The Lance has written articles about these bans that can be found here, here, and look for our featured article for this week!