Welcome to our second edition of the Week in Review! Each week, the news staff of The Pioneer brings you a list of the top national and international stories from the past week. If you want to know what you’ve missed, read on. And don’t worry-we’ve linked to longer articles on each subject if you decide you’d like to learn more. This is a new undertaking for us, so we welcome feedback about how to make this more useful to you. Feel free to comment below, or shoot us an email at [email protected] with suggestions.
1. Blueprint for Immigration Reform
A group of bipartisan senators unveiled a blueprint for immigration reform last Monday which would allow for a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants. The plan incorporates Democrat insistence for a single comprehensive bill that would not deny eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants while incorporating Republican senators’ demands that strong border and interior enforcement must be addressed before citizenship pathways can be paved for undocumented immigrants.
Meanwhile, a group of four senators proposed a bill last Tuesday which plans to double the number of temporary visas available each year to highly skilled immigrants.
The NY Times has coverage on both plans here and here.
2. Compromise on Contraceptives Proposal
The White House proposed a compromise to the current health care policy last Friday, Feb. 1. The Obama administration has received immense pressure from religious organizations protesting the policy’s plans to provide free contraceptives. The proposal could affect churches and religiously-affiliated hospitals, universities and social service organizations.
The NY Times and the Washington Post have a thorough announcement of the proposal.
3. Taliban Raid in Pakistan
Taliban fighters fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at an army base in Serai Naurang in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, Feb. 2. At least 10 civilians and 12 fighters were among the dead. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility. Taliban Spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan reported that the attack was in retaliation for the recent deaths of two Taliban commanders in US drone strikes.
Al-Jezeera and BBC News have a summary of the raid
4. Reports of Cyberattacks on Major Newspapers
The NY Times reports that the newspaper has been attacked consistently for the past four months by Chinese hackers. According to the paper, the timings of the attack coincide with their investigation that found Wen Jiabao’s (China’s prime minister) relatives had accumulated a fortune worth several billion dollars through business dealings. The Times claims that the hackers accessed the e-mail accounts of Shanghai bureau chief, David Barboza, who wrote the investigation and Jim Yardley, who previously worked as bureau chief in Beijing.
Following the Times’ announcement, the Wall Street Journal, theWashington Post, and Twitter also reported cyberattacks that resembled the Times’ hacks, with Twitter claiming that hackers accessed 250,000 user accounts.
The NY Times, the Washington Post, Slate, and ABC News have more information.
5. Seattle Cuts Funding to Day Centers for Homeless
The Seattle City Council has decided to trim funding to the city’s nine day-service centers in order to build two new homeless centers. The centers’ budget cuts were approximately five percent. Although the city council had previously made the decision to add more money to this year’s budget for the day centers, the council eventually made the decision to not allocate the extra $200,000 to existing day centers. Some service providers around the city are angered by the council’s decision, questioning why the new city money wasn’t awarded the new money, even conditionally.
The Seattle Times has more information.