News Brief #7: Trump’s New Executive Orders and Snow in Florida

(Joshua Goetz)

Snow in Florida

In an absolutely unexpected and unprecedented turn of events, northern Florida received nearly ten inches of snow last week. The massive Gulf Coast snowstorm that covered much of the Southeast brought record amounts of snow to many cities that typically experience little to no snow.

Chief among these cities was Pensacola, which was coated in 8.9 inches of snow, putting it ahead of cities in Alaska for total snowfall this winter. Florida has not seen over an inch of snow since 2014 and hasn’t seen over two since 1989, making this snowstorm the largest amount of snow Florida has seen in recorded history.

The snow didn’t reach southern parts of the state, where there hasn’t been any sort of snowfall since 1977. Unfortunately, even though the snowstorms brought joy to many Floridians who rarely have the opportunity to experience a snow day, at least ten people perished across the nation in the snowstorms.

(Joshua Goetz)

Elon Musk’s Nazi Salute

On President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day, Elon Musk delivered a speech to the crowds at Washington D.C.’s Capital One Arena. The tech billionaire played a key role in Trump’s campaign, being a large advocate of the President and even hosting possibly illegal giveaways to promote voting for him.

Less than one minute into his speech, he thanked the country vigorously, saying “my heart goes out to you”, before placing his hand over his heart and doing a textbook Sieg Heil salute. Not only did he do this once, he turned around immediately after and did the salute again.

Despite initial shock and outrage by many, supporters of Musk and the media were quick to excuse him, claiming that the salute was an unintentional autistic stim, while others claimed that he was attempting to do a “Roman Salute” instead. Although many right-wing influencers embraced the gesture, other parts of the world didn’t take so kindly to it.

Germany’s Prime Minister berated the billionaire in a speech for the salute. After the initial reaction, Musk didn’t deny his use of the Sieg Heil, instead doubling down and making Nazi-themed jokes on his platform, X (formerly known as Twitter). “Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down!” he wrote, referencing famous Nazi generals and then going on to deliver a speech supporting Germany’s far-right party.

(Joshua Goetz)

Trump’s Executive Orders

In his first week in office, Trump signed a historically large amount of executive orders changing major parts of the U.S. government and making blanket changes across the country, many of which align closely with the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025.” His orders have dismantled DEI entirely, which promotes the hiring of minority groups, as well as removing a 1965 law prohibiting anti-discrimination in the workplace.

He’s also effectively changed the way transgender people are legally viewed, preventing them from being recognized as anything but the sex they are assigned at birth and banning transgender people from the military, which is something that he had previously enacted in his first term as president.

He also withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords and World Health Organization and has begun the removal of any climate-change-related policies. His most controversial order has been the beginning of mass deportation raids across the country to capture illegal immigrants, including allowing raids in schools.

Following up on his nationalist policies regarding immigration, he has begun to stack tariffs on both Canada and Mexico, restricting trade with our close neighbors and allies. He claims that he would like Canada to join the United States of America to remove the tariffs.

(Joshua Goetz)

Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

In a turn of events, both Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. If this first phase of the ceasefire goes smoothly, both groups are willing to extend the ceasefire to create a lasting peace.

Hamas has returned Israeli hostages, while Israel has begun to allow aid to the civilians that Israel shelled. Much of Gaza has already been entirely razed to the ground by Israel, and a staggering 70% of victims were women and children, leaving very little for Palestinian citizens to return to.

However, both groups aim to continue peace talks and arrange for a lasting solution that meets both of their demands. The ceasefire terms were drafted mostly by American diplomats under the former Biden Administration, while Trump aims to continue what Biden started and claims credit for much of the resolution of the conflict.

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News Brief #7: Trump’s New Executive Orders and Snow in Florida

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