Wildfires Rage in Australia

Australia’s wildfire season has been exacerbated by intense heat and
abnormally dry conditions

Credit: eyeweed/flickr

Massive wildfires have threatened thousands of acres of Australian brushland and hundreds of homes as winds and dry conditions fan the flames forward. In one seaside city, thousands of residents and tourists took refuge on the beach or even on boats as wildfires approached the city. At least 12 so far have died in this year’s wildfire season.

This year has been the driest on record for the continent, with high, gusty winds and sweltering summer heat exacerbating the problem.

Most of the country is under a firework ban this New Year’s, though the city of Sydney has been exempted to allow for its massive firework display along the shore.

Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Candidates Win in Elections

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists and protesters scored a major victory this month when the pro-democracy bloc of candidates scored a majority of seats in the local district council elections, winning 388 out of 479 seats total. The pro-Beijing (or pro-establishment bloc), which favors close relations with the Chinese government, won only 62 seats, or just under 13% of the total. To compare, the pro-Beijing bloc held a majority of seats prior to the election.

Because of the first-past-the post system in Hong Kong’s district council elections, in which candidates are elected to represent specific districts, pro-democracy bloc-won seats are over-represented compared to the percentage of those who voted for those candidates; pro-democracy candidates managed to win just under 60% of the vote. While pro-democracy voters outnumbered those candidates who support the Chinese government’s increased role in governing the area, the population still has a large share of the population who may hold unfavorable attitudes towards those who seek to distance Hong Kong from Beijing’s control.

Elizabeth Warren Drops in polls, Pete Buttigieg Rises

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) standing in the polls has fallen this month with the senator now trailing in Iowa and New Hampshire. In her place, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has taken her place as the rising star of the Democratic race, polling first place in both states and remaining in fourth place nationally, behind Biden, Sanders, and Warren. They are the only candidates polling in the double digits; Sen. Kamala Harris, the fifth highest polling candidate, is at 3.8% (D-CA) in national polls.

Impeachment Inquiry Testimonies Begin

This month saw the first public testimonies from officials involved in the controversy over President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this year, with House Democrats hoping to implicate President Trump in an alleged attempt to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, in exchange for foreign aid. The alleged request by Trump was to look into Biden’s involvement in a Ukrainian oil company during his father’s vice presidency and the dismissal of a prosecutor supposedly investigating the company. While Hunter Biden had no previous experience in oil and gas, no wrongdoing by Biden has yet been uncovered, and the dismissal of the prosecutor has been linked to the prosecutor’s own previous corruption.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in making the call, dismissing claims of a quid pro quo in which American aid would only be released if the investigation into Biden’s conduct began. While the foreign aid did go through, it may have only gone through after a complaint was filed by a whistleblower documenting concerns with Trump’s request. It does not prove, however, that the aid would not have been delivered otherwise.

Most witnesses, including former acting Ukrainian Ambassador Bill Taylor, have said that they received the impression that a quid pro quo existed, though they based that on information from second-hand sources, not from the president himself. US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, said that members of the Trump cabinet knew about the request, including Vice President Mike Pence and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

Nationals Defeats Astros in World Series

The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series Wednesday night, clinching their first championship in the franchise’s history. The Astros led 2-0 until the 7th inning, after which the Nationals managed to score 4 runs in the course of the latter part of the game. The Astros never managed to score any further runs, giving the Nationals the game.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was named the MVP of this year’s World Series.