News Timeline: North America 2018

 

January 4 – United States 
The United States suspends security assistance to Pakistan accusing it of harboring terrorist groups, including the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban. The U.S. says these militants target U.S. personnel and destabilize the region. The aid suspension only affects military assistance and will include equipment and security-related funds. The State Department has yet to decide the amount of aid that is being cut. In August last year, the Trump Administration delayed handing $255 million in military aid to Pakistan. However, the U.S. will renew its security relationship with Pakistan after it demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the terrorist and militant groups that operate from within its country.[1] Pakistan serves as a key transport route for supplies to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In 2016, Pakistan received $687 million in U.S. assistance, which includes civilian assistance such as education, health, and economic development.[2] Pakistani authorities deny the accusations of harboring terrorists.

January 8 – United States
Save the Children charitable organization, known for fighting to save children from poverty and discrimination, issues a report that takes a hard look at the factors that rob children of their childhoods. These “childhood enders” include lack of access to healthcare, conflict, extreme violence, child marriage, early pregnancy, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child homicide, and child labor. Many children suffer from a toxic mix of poverty and discrimination – excluded because of who they are: a girl, a refugee, an ethnic minority, or a child with a disability. These threats to fulfilling childhood are also present in high-income countries. The organization says that when taken together, these factors have created a global childhood crisis of massive proportions. The End of Childhood Report and Index explore in detail these factors and rank 172 countries based on where childhood is most protected and where it is most eroded.

The findings in the report include the following statistics: 263 million children worldwide do not go to school; 165 million are used as child labor; 28 million children have fled violence becoming refugees or internally displaced; 40 million girls (aged 15-19) were forced into marriages; 156 million children under age 5 have stunted growth due to malnutrition; and 8 million children die each year prematurely.

Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Netherlands, and Sweden are the top five countries where children have the best childhoods. The index score is based on eight indicators: child health, education, labor, marriage, childbirth, and violence. The United States ranks only 36th.[3] Its low position is due to rising child mortality rate (the highest among the top wealthy democratic countries). Some of the factors behind it are related to infant deaths, automobile accidents, and firearm assaults. The U.S. has also higher rate of teenage pregnancy.[4]
Full Report: “Stolen Childhoods”

January 9 – United States 
The United States terminates temporary protected status for about 200,000 Salvadorans, who came to the U.S. after a devastating earthquake in El Salvador in 2001. This special immigration status allowed them to live and work in the U.S. no matter whether they had entered the U.S. legally or not. The government says the conditions caused by the earthquake do not exist anymore and these immigrants have to leave by September 9, 2019 or face deportation. However, El Salvador remains wracked by violence and poverty, and it relies on money send back from relatives in the U.S.[5] These remittances account for about 17.1 percent of El Salvador’s GDP and benefit about a third of the country’s households.[6]

January 10 – United States
Bangladesh and Myanmar agree on a timeframe to repatriate tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who, in recent months, fled violence at the hands of Myanmar’s military and local Buddhist villagers in Rakhine state, in what is described by the UN as ethnic cleansing. The Rohingya are a stateless ethnic minority in Myanmar. Myanmar agrees to accept 1,500 Rohingya each week, until all of them are returned within two years. However, the refugees are not assured of safety and the end of discrimination upon their return.[7] Bangladesh hosts nearly 860,000 Rohingya refugees of whom 655,000 have arrived since August 2017, making it the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world. Many of them are traumatized by rape, murder and torture.[8] (January 25): A U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson resigns from the Myanmar’s international advisory board on Rohingya accusing the board of being a “whitewashing operation meant to validate the policies of the government of Myanmar.” Richardson also accuses Myanmar’s civilian leader and the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and his long-time friend, Aung San Suu Kyi, of disparaging the media, the United Nations, and human rights groups. He says she is not interested in honest advice.[9]
Who is burning down Rohingya villages? (video 03:48)

January 20 – United States
The U.S. Senate fails to pass an appropriation bill, or a spending bill, by its deadline of Friday midnight, January 19, which leads to the shutdown of the federal government. As a result many federal offices close and hundreds of thousands federal employees are forced to take a leave of absence without pay. Essential services such as national security, postal services, air traffic control, electricity generation and air traffic control will continue, but those considered non-essential, like visa and passport processing, will be closed until the government agrees on a spending budget.[10] This is the first government shutdown under the rule of one party, when the Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.[11] To pass a budget, the Senate needs 60 out of 100 votes. With current 51 Republican senators, the Senate majority failed to gain several more Democratic votes due to disagreements mostly about immigration. Republicans demand more funding for the military and border security, including a border wall with Mexico promised by President Trump during his presidential campaign. Democrats, on the other hand, demand adding to the bill a protection for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) and an extension of the expired Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the next six years. The last government shutdown was in 2013, and lasted 16 days. It cost the government $2 billion in lost productivity.[12] (January 22): The Senate comes to an agreement to end the shutdown and votes to fund the government but only until February 8. The deal includes funding for CHIP for the next six years and assurances by the Senate Republicans that the immigration and DACA issues will be addressed by then.[13]

January 22 – United States 
The European Union imposes sanctions on Venezuela’s seven senior officials accused of human rights violations and corruption. Their assets will be frozen and they will are banned from traveling in Europe. One of them is the country’s second most powerful leader and the head of Venezuela’s ruling socialist party, Diosdado Cabello. The United States has already imposed similar sanctions on dozens of Venezuelan officials, including President Nicolas Maduro. The purpose of these sanctions is to undermine Maduro’s power and display the opposition to his policies. Years of mismanagement and falling oil prices have caused severe economic and political crisis that triggers almost daily anti-government popular protests.[14] (January 19): As economic and political crisis deepens in Venezuela, many Venezuelans flee the country, with most of them to neighboring Colombia. At the end of 2017, there were about 470,000 Venezuelans living in Colombia, most illegally.[15] (24 January): Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly orders new elections that must take place before April. President Maduro says he will run for another term in office. At the same time the country’s opposition is fractured, with many activists either in jail or in exile.[16]

January 23 – United States 
As part of his “America First” trade policy, the United States President Donald Trump approves imposing tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels. The tariffs of up to 50 percent will affect South Korea and China the most. Trump says that these tariffs will create jobs and revive a U.S. manufacturing sector decimated by cheaper imports. The South Korean company Samsung reacts by saying the cost will be passed on to the American consumers who will have to pay more for fewer choices. Also, the developers who install solar panels say the tariffs will hike their costs, kill projects and make it harder to compete with wind and natural gas.[17] Both South Korea and China are to file complaints at the World Trade Organization (WTO).[18]
Solar Trade Case: Trump Says Yes To New Tariffs That Target China
How U.S. Tariffs Will Hurt America’s Solar Industry

February 14 – North America: United States
Armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, 19-year-old Nicolas Cruz enters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opens fire, and kills 17 and injures more than a dozen of students and teachers in what it becomes one of the deadliest school massacres in the U.S. history.[19] After the shooting, some students from Parkland initiate a national campaign for gun reforms, calling for improved background checks on gun buyers and putting restrictions on assault weapons and on bump stocks, the gun accessories that enable a rifle to shoot hundreds of rounds a minute. Others call for improving mental health access. Initially, President Donald Trump expresses openness to raising the age for buying certain assault rifles to 21, extending background checks, and even a support for an assault weapons ban proposal. The National Rifle Association (NRA), however, pushes back against any of these proposals and says that it does not back any ban. The NRA is the largest gun and the 2nd amendment rights lobby in the U.S. with five million members and significant financial influence over US politicians.[20]  (February 24): Pressured by the public, several US companies break ties with the NRA and announce ending special discounts for NRA members. These include car rental giants Hertz and Enterprise, the family-owned First National Bank of Omaha, Enterprise Holdings, which owns the rental car brands Alamo, Enterprise and National, Delta Airlines, and a few others.[21] (March 9): Florida legislatures pass a bill that include raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 and extending the waiting period to three days. Governor Rick Scott breaks with the NRA and signs it into law. Within hours, the N.R.A. files a lawsuit, arguing that Florida’s new law violates the Second Amendment, as well as the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.[22] (March 12): President Trump is backing away from the gun control measures he supported a few weeks ago. Now, his plan to prevent school shootings is to arm teachers, a position highly unpopular among educators, but supported by the NRA.[23] The NRA endorsed Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign and spent $30.3 million to support him.[24] (March 14): Thousands of students across the country take part in the National School Walkout to honor the victims of the Parkland shooting, to protest gun violence, and to demand action on stricter gun control legislation.
Mass shootings in America in statistics

March 4 – United States 
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are critically ill after being found on a bench in the United Kingdom’s city of Salisbury. The British authorities determined that the couple was poisoned with a rare military-grade nerve agent developed in secret by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. It is part of a group of nerve agents known as Novichok. It was designed to escape detection by international inspectors, but its existence was revealed by defectors.[25] Russia denies any involvement. Sergei Skripal is a retired Russian military intelligence colonel who was jailed for 13 years by Russia in 2006 for passing secrets to the British intelligence. In 2010, he was given refuge in the UK as part of a “spy swap” in exchange for Russian spies arrested by the FBI.[26]
(March 15): The leaders of the UK, the U.S., France, and Germany sign an extraordinary joint statement that holds Russia responsible for the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil. It also urges Russia to provide full disclosure about the Novichok nerve agent and its program to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.[27]
(March 26): The UK expels 23 Russian diplomats in response to Russia’s alleged use of a nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal, a British citizen, on British soil. In a joint action, more than 100 Russian diplomats from 22 European countries, the U.S. and Canada are expelled.[28] NATO also expels seven Russian representatives and limits the size of Russia’s mission to 20, down from 30.[29]
What is the Novichok nerve agent?
Putin, power and poison: Russia’s elite FSB spy club

March 22 – United States 
The United States President Donald Trump signs a memorandum that authorizes imposing tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods. Trump states the tariffs are needed due to Chinese theft of U.S intellectual property and other unfair practices in trade, such as those that pressure US companies to share technology with Chinese firms[30]
(March 23): President Trump’s steep tariffs on steel and aluminum come into effect. They include a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. He grants temporary exemption to several countries: Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea.[31] President Trump has long been saying that the U.S. is treated unfairly by its trade partners, and claimed America had a trade deficit of $800 billion in 2017. However, this figure is $566 billion, while trade deficit with China itself amounts to $375 billion.[32] He also cites national security as a reason as these materials are used for military weapons and equipment. This argument is being questioned by experts who say that 70 percent of the steel that is used in the United States is produced in the United States. The tariff move sparks concerns that businesses that buy steel and aluminum such as automakers will face higher production costs because of the tariffs, leading to higher prices for customers and job losses.[33] There are also concerns that other countries will retaliate, leading to bigger trade battles and losses for other U.S. businesses and farms that rely on exporting their products.[34] For example, China purchases 61 percent of total U.S. soybean exports, and more than 30 percent of overall U.S. soybean production.[35]
(March 24): China responds with retaliatory tariffs worth $3 billion on a variety of U.S. goods, including pork and wine. It says the move is to safeguard its interests and balance losses caused by the U.S. steel tariffs.
(April 3): The U.S. announces $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods.
(April 4): China responds with retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on 106 types of U.S. products worth $50 billion. They include soybeans, planes, automobiles, chemicals, corn products, orange juice, whiskey, and beef. American Soybean Association says that a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans into China will have a devastating effect on every soybean farmer in America.[36] China has also initiated a World Trade Organization dispute procedure against the U.S.[37]
Trade deficit isn’t always a bad thing

May 8 – United States 
United States President Donald Trump announces that he will withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, one of the most important foreign policy achievements of his predecessor President Barack Obama. He says the agreement was flawed. The United States will now re-impose the sanctions on Iran from before the deal and is considering new penalties. European companies will also have to stop their operations in Iran, or they will face American sanctions. The sanctions on oil will require European and Asian countries to reduce their imports from Iran. Both U.S. Western allies and Iran accuse the U.S. of violating the accord and not honoring international treaties.[38]

The Iran nuclear deal took over two years to negotiate and was signed between Iran and so called P5+1, the UN Security Council’s five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Germany. Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
(May 11): France, Britain and Germany say they will work with Iran to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement. They also condemn the U.S. threat to re-impose sanctions on European companies that have engaged in multi-billion dollar deals with Iran since the agreement. They say they will work to block these measures. They also warn that discarding the agreement will lead to rising oil prices and fuel an arms race in the Middle East.[39]
Key details on the Iran nuclear deal

June 1 – United States / Canada 
The United States President Donald Trump imposes trade tariffs on the European Union, Canada, and Mexico, which include a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum sent to the U.S. The Trump Administration cites national security as a reason for the tariffs. The critics and opponents of the tariffs dismiss this argument by saying that these countries are the U.S. main allies with military cooperation. They also warn that the tariffs will raise prices on a wide variety of products for American consumers. The move angers the allied countries that are preparing retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. goods.[40]
(June 15): President Donald Trump imposes 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of variety of Chinese goods. Trump says the tariffs are necessary to punish China for its unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft. The critics of the tariffs worry that the tariffs will hurt American businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers and will lead to trade wars. China vows to retaliate.[41]
(June 22): The European Union imposes retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods worth $3.1 billion. These products include bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice. Also Mexico imposes its tariffs on products ranging from steel to blueberries and bourbon.
(July 1): Canada calls the U.S. tariffs illegal and unjustified and implements retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on U.S. metal products and 10 percent on more than 250 various products, such as beer kegs, whiskey and orange juice.[42]
Basic ideas explained: trade wars, tariffs and protectionism
U.S. top trading partners

June 12 – United States 
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in the first summit meeting between the leaders of the United States of America and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). They sign a joint agreement that includes security guarantees for North Korea and a pledge from the North Korean leader of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, although it does not set any timetable. The statement also includes a recovery of remains of US soldiers’ from the time of the Korean War. However, the document does not contain any substantial information on how the denuclearization will happen and how it would be verified. Some see the summit as a step in the right direction, while the critics see it as legitimizing the North Korea’s regime without addressing its gross human rights violations. However, the sanctions will not be lifted until North Korea completes promised denuclearization. Right after the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump makes a surprising announcement that the U.S. will discontinue joint military exercises with South Korea calling them “provocative” and will withdraw troops stationed in the Korean Peninsula. The statement is seen as a concession to North Korea.[43]
Trump-Kim Summit explained in short
North Korea in 9 charts

July 11 – United States
In response to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, China’s Ministry of Commerce strikes back with tariffs of equal size on some US exports to China. Another $16 billion worth of tariffs is expected to be imposed after the US’s second wave of tariffs goes into effect in a few weeks. China tariffs focus on agricultural products from the U.S., hitting US farmers who will be left with few other options. Products affected by China’s tariffs include soybeans, pork, fish, seafood, orange juice, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, cotton, and whiskey. The sourced article provides a full list of products affected by these tariffs.[44]

August 6 – United States
The United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order reimposing some of sanctions on Iran, three months after he pulled the U.S. from the seven-party Iran nuclear deal. Trump accuses Iran of malign activities, such as its ballistic missile program and support for terrorism.[45] The sanctions target transactions related to the US banknotes and the Iranian rial, Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals, graphite, aluminum, steel, coal and software used in industrial processes, as well as the automotive sector. A second set of sanctions, including against Iran’s oil industry and shipping and shipbuilding sectors, will come into effect in November of this year. The Trump Administration puts pressure on other countries and warns that anyone doing business with Iran will not be able to do business with the United States.[46] This complicates relations for other countries who have invested in Iranian businesses.

August 27 – United States 
A new set of U.S. sanctions against Russia comes into effect in response to Russia’s use of an internationally banned nerve agent in an attempt to kill a former Russian spy turned double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain’s town of Salisbury. The nerve agent called Novichok is a military-grade chemical weapon developed in the former Soviet Union. These new sanctions terminate assistance to Russia except for urgent humanitarian issues, end some arms sales and financing, restrict access to U.S. credit or other financial assistance, and prohibit the export of restricted goods or technology to Russia. Another set of sanctions will be imposed on Russia after 90 days if Russia does not allow inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to confirm that it no longer has chemical weapons. Russia rejects the accusations and says the sanctions will only create more tension between the two countries.[47]
More on Russia sanctions from the U.S. Department of State

September 17 – United States 
Escalating its trade war with China, the United States President Donald Trump imposes a third set of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports that include 6,000 items. He says it is in response to China’s unfair trade practices. These tariffs will start at 10 percent and increase to 25 percent from 2019 unless the two countries agree a deal. These items include consumer goods such as handbags, furniture, toilet paper, and textiles. The list also includes food items such as meats, fish, rice, soybeans, fruit, and cereal. Talks between the Chinese and U.S. authorities have so far failed. Many US businesses, farmers, manufacturers, retailers and other industries, oppose the tariffs, calling them taxes on American families.[48]
(September 18): China retaliates with its own tariffs levied on $60 billion of U.S. goods that will include liquefied natural gas. It also threatens other measures.[49]
Trade wars, Trump tariffs and protectionism explained

October 12 – United States
Several thousand people set off from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala on foot towards the United States border in what has been referred to as the migrant caravan. The migrants that include lots of women and children are fleeing violence, forced gang recruitment, poverty, and the lack of economic opportunities in the hope of a better life. U.S. President Donald Trump calls the caravan a “national emergency” (although it is still thousands of miles away from the U.S. border) and vows to send thousands of troops to stop the migrants from crossing the US border.[50]  According to the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), the region has one of the highest murder rates in the world. In 2015, murder rates in Honduras stood at 57.45 deaths per 100,000 and El Salvador at 105.44 deaths. In comparison, murder rates in the United States in 2015 were at 4.96 deaths.[51]

October 27 – United States
Armed with handguns and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 46-year-old Robert Bowers enters the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during Shabbat morning services and opens fire, killing 11 people and injuring seven. Bowers was active on the far-right social media website Gab, where he posted anti-Semitic comments and expressed his desire to kill Jewish people. This mass shooting is the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States in history. The U.S. President Donald Trump reaction is that the shooting has little to do with US gun laws and that the temple should have armed guards.[52]
Mapping global gun violence | The Economist

November 6 – United States
The United States holds midterm elections with voters filling 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate and all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Americans also vote for governors in 35 of 50 states. With the highest turnout in decades (just shy of 50 percent), Democrats win the majority in the House with 35 seats; however, the Republicans maintain the Senate majority gaining additional two seats. With their first House majority since 2010, Democrats will have power to block the Republican legislative agenda. They will also control various oversight committees allowing them to hold hearings and issue subpoenas to investigate.[53] A record number of women were elected to the House, with the total of 111 women now in Congress.[54]
Mid-terms 2018: How these elections broke records

November 26 – United States 
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which analyzes human-induced and natural trends in global climate change and projects major trends for the next 25 to 100 years, issues the Fourth National Climate Assessment report. The report stresses that “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activity. The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future—but the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur.”[55] It concludes that “with continued growth in emissions at historic rates, annual losses in some economic sectors are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century—more than the current gross domestic product (GDP) of many U.S. states.” It also notes that the impacts of climate change are already being felt across the country. More frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events will continue to damage infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems.[56]
Full Climate Assessment report

On October 8, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, which discusses the impacts of global warming of 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. The report summarizes the findings of scientists, showing that maintaining a temperature rise to below 1.5°C remains possible, but only through rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure, and industrial systems. In order to achieve the 1.5°C target, CO2 emissions must decline by 45 percent (relative to 2010 levels) by 2030, reaching net zero by around 2050, but also deep reductions in non-CO2 emissions. A warming of even 1.5 degrees will result in large-scale drought, famine, heat stress, species die-off, loss of entire ecosystems, and loss of habitable land, throwing more than 100 million people into poverty. The areas especially affected will be in arid regions including the Middle East and the Sahel in Africa, where fresh water is expected to dry up completely if the rise reaches 2°C.[57]
Full IPCC Climate Report
Five things we have learned from the IPCC report

November 29 – North America: United States
The National Center for Health Statistics issues government reports showing that the life expectancy in the U.S. has declined over the past few years. Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), comments that “this troubling trend is largely driven by deaths from drug overdose and suicide. Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the Nation’s overall health and these sobering statistics are a wakeup call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.”[58]  According to the statistics, life expectancy in the United States has declined to 78.6 years in 2017.[59] In 2017, there were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the United States, 9.6 percent higher than in 2016.[60]  The suicide rate also increased by 3,7 percent and 33 percent from 1999 becoming the second leading cause of death for ages 10–34 and the fourth leading cause for ages 35–54. It used to be the 10th leading cause of death for all ages.[61] The national nonprofit Mental Health America has identified that many people with depression in the U.S. are left untreated. More than 56 percent of adults with mental illness received no past year treatment, and for those seeking treatment, 20.1 percent continue to report unmet treatment needs. The state prevalence of uninsured adults with mental illness ranges from 3.3 percent in Massachusetts to 23.8 percent in South Carolina.[62]

Global life expectancy for almost every country will rise in the next 20 years, with Spain overtaking Japan as the country with the longest-living population. And while the average U.S. lifespan will increase, the United States will fall from 43rd to 64th place on a global list of 195 nations.[63]

December 14 –United States 
The United States Senate votes to withdraw US military aid for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and blames the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed senators on intelligence surrounding the killing. The Senators send a message that they value the strategic relation with Saudi Arabia, but they disapprove of Crown Prince’s leadership and humanitarian disaster caused by the war in Yemen. However, the Trump Administration says it will veto the bill, emphasizing the importance of the economic ties with Saudi Arabia.[64]
Senators speaking about evidence of Khashoggi’s killing
Khashoggi murder: What’s next for Mohammed bin Salman?

 

Sources:
[1] U.S. Department of State. Department Press Briefing – January 4, 2018. Heather Nauert Spokesperson. 4 January 2018. Web. Accessed 19 January 2018 from https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2018/01/276852.htm
[2] U.S. Department of State. ”Foreign Assistance in Pakistan, 2016 by category.” foreignassistance.gov. 2018. Web. Accessed 19 January 2018 from https://www.foreignassistance.gov/explore/country/Pakistan
[3] Save the Children. “Stolen Childhoods.” End of Childhood Report 2017. 2018. Web. Accessed 26 January 2018 from http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SAVETHECHILDREN_ENDOFCHILDHOOD_INDEX_2017_EASTAFRICA%20EDITION_LOWRES.PDF
[4] Ibid 3 and Howard, Jacqueline. “Among 20 wealthy nations, US child mortality ranks worst, study finds.” CNN. 8 January 2018. Web. Accessed 28 January 2018.
[5] “U.S. Ends El Salvador’s Protected Status, Affecting 200,000 Residents.” NPR. 8 January 2018. Web. Accessed 1 February 2018.
[6] Central Intelligence Agency. “El Salvador: Economy. ”The World Factbook 2018.” 23 January 2018. Web. Accessed 1 February 1, 2018.
[7] “Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh and Myanmar agree repatriation timeframe.” BBC News. 16 January 2018. Web. Accessed 30 January 2018.
[8] United Nations  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). “Rohingya Refugee Crisis.” 2018. Web. Accessed 30 January 2018 from https://www.unocha.org/rohingya-refugee-crisis
[9] Saine, Cindy. “VOA Interview: Former Envoy Richardson on Rohingya Crisis.”  Voice of America. 26 January 2018. Web. Accessed 29 January 2018 from https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-interview-bill-richardson-rohingya/4227459.html
[10] “US government shutdown: How did we get here?” BBC News. 22 January 2018. Web. Accessed 22 January 2018.
[11] Matthews, Dylan. “This is the first real government shutdown under one-party government, ever.” Vox.com. 20 January 2018. Web. Accessed 22 January 2018.
[12] Rein, Lisa. “Federal government shutdown cost $2 billion in lost productivity, OMB report says.” The Washington Post. 7 November 2013. Web. Accessed 23 January 2018.
[13] Nolen, John, Nancy Cordes, Rebecca Shabad, Walt Cronkite, Emily Tillett and Rebecca Kaplan “Trump signs bill to end government shutdown and reopen government.” CBS News. Web. Accessed 23January 2018.
[14] The Associated Press. “EU imposes sanctions on 7 senior Venezuelan officials.” ABC News. 22 January 2018. Web. Accessed 24 January 2018.
[15] Bolter, Jessica. “In Latin America, Spike in Migrant Arrivals Prompts Flurry of Response.” Migration Policy Institute. 7 December 2017. Web. Accessed 23 January 2018 from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/top-10-2017-issue-10-latin-america-spike-migrant-arrivals-prompts-flurry-responses
[16] “Venezuela: Maduro ready to stand in early presidential poll.” BBC News. 24 January 2018. Web. Accessed 24 January 2018.
[17] Risso, Salvador. “Trump says solar tariff will create ‘a lot of jobs.’ But it could wipe out many more.” The Chicago Tribune. 29 January 2018. Web. Accessed 31 January 2018.
[18] “’America First’ tariffs on imports spark Asia outcry.” BBC News. 23 January 2018. Web. Accessed 31 January 2018.
[19] Laughland, Oliver, Richard Luscombe, and Alan Yuhas. “Florida school shooting: at least 17 people dead on ‘horrific, horrific day.” The Guardian. 15 February 2018. Web. Accessed 12 March 2018.
[20] Wright, Mike, Mark Molloy, and Keely Lockhart. “Parkland students vs the NRA: Has the powerful US gun lobby met its match in Generation Snapchat?” The Telegraph. 26 February 2018. Web. Accessed 13 March 2018.
[21] “Florida shooting: Firms abandon NRA amid consumer boycott.” BBC News. 24 February 2018. Web. Accessed 13 March 2018.
[22] Mazzei, Patricia. “Florida Governor Signs Gun Limits Into Law, Breaking With the N.R.A.” The New York Times. 9 march 2018. Web. Accessed 13 March 2018.
[23] Stewart, Emily. “Trump’s new position on gun control is starting to look a lot like the NRA’s.” Vox. 12 March 2018. Web. Accessed 13 March 2018.
[24] Ibid 20.
[25] “Russian spy: Russia demand nerve agent sample from UK.” BBC News. 13 March 2018. Web. Accessed 28 march 2018.
[26] “Russian spy: Attack was ‘brazen and reckless’, says Amber Rudd.” BBC News. 8 March 2018. Web. Accessed 28 March 2018.
[27] “Trump, Macron, Merkel, and May Join Forces to Condemn Russia.” The Daily Beast. 15 March 2018. Web. Accessed 28 March 2018 from https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-macron-merkel-and-may-join-forces-to-condemn-russia
[28] Diamond, Jeremy, Allie Malloy and Angela Dewan. “Trump expelling 60 Russian diplomats in wake of UK nerve agent attack.” CNN. 26 March 2018. Web. Accessed 29 March 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/26/politics/us-expel-russian-diplomats/index.html
[29] “NATO Expels Seven Russian Diplomats, Cuts Size of Mission.” The Daily Beast. 27 March 2018. Web. Accessed 29 March 2018.
[30] “Trump announces $50bn in China tariffs.” BBC News. 22 March 2018. Web. Accessed 4 April 2018.
[31] Tankersley, Jim and  Natalie Kitroeffmarch. “U.S. Exempts Some Allies From Tariffs, but May Opt for Quotas.” The New York Times. 22 March 2018. Web. Accessed 4 April 2018.
[32] Ibid 31.
[33] Gillespie, Patrick. “Why Trump country is worried about Trump’s tariffs.” CNN Money. 28 March 2018. Web. Accessed 2 April 2018 from http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/28/news/economy/trump-tariffs-red-states/index.html
[34] PBS/GPB. “How Trump’s claims that tariffs are needed for national security could set a problematic precedent.” News Hour. 8 March 2018. Web. Accessed 2 April 2018.
[35] American Soybean Association. “Chinese Retaliation is No Longer a ‘What If’ for Soybean Farmers.” 4 April 2018. Web. Accessed 5 April 2018.
[36] Ibid 35.
[37] Horsley, Scott and Scott Neuman. “China Responds To Trump Administration’s Latest Tariff List.” NPR. 3 April 2018. Web. Accessed 4 April 2018.
[38] Mark Landler. “Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned.” The New York Times. 8 May 2018. Web. Accessed 11 June 2018.
[39] “Iran nuclear deal: France condemns US move to reimpose sanctions.” BBC News. 11 May 2018. Web. Accessed 10 June 2018.
[40] Heather Long. “Trump has officially put more tariffs on U.S. allies than on China.”
The Washington Post. 31May 2018. Web. Accessed 3 July 2018.
[41] “Trump puts 25% tariff on Chinese goods.” BBC News. 15 June 2018. Web. Accessed 3 July 2018.
[42] Ibid 41.
[43] “Trump Kim summit: US president hails deal after historic talks.” BBC News. 11 June 2018. Web. Accessed 8 July 2018 and “Was The Singapore Summit Just A Stunt For TV Cameras?” NPR. Morning Edition. 12 June 2018. Web. Accessed 9 July 2018.
[44] Bob Bryan. “China just slammed massive tariffs on $34 billion worth of US goods — here’s what will get hit.” Business Insider. 11 July 2018. Web. Accessed 20 July 2018.
[45] Andrew Buncombe. “Trump signs order reimposing sanctions on Iran – a move the EU said it “deeply” regrets.” Independent. 6 August 2018. Web. Accessed 29 August 2018.
[46] “Iran sanctions: Trump warns trading partners.” BBC News. 7 August 2018. Web. Accessed 29 August 2018.
[47] “U.S. Sanctions On Russia Over Poisoning In Britain Start Aug. 27.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 August 24 2018. Web. Accessed 30 August 2018.
[48] “China hits back at Trump with tariffs on $60bn of US goods.” BBC News. 18 September 2018. Web. Accessed 1 October 2018.
[49] Ibid 48.
[50] Miriam Valverde. “Here’s the latest on the migrant caravans.” PolitiFact. 2 November 2018. Web. Accessed 5 November 2018 from https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/nov/02/heres-latest-migrant-caravans/
[51] The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “Intentional Homicide Victims.” Statistics and Data. 2015. Web. Accessed 5 November 2018 from https://dataunodc.un.org/crime/intentional-homicide-victims
[52] “Pittsburgh shooting: ‘What happened will not break us’.” BBC News. 29 October 2018. Web. Accessed 1 November 2018.
[53] “US midterm elections 2018 results.” The Financial Times. 28 November 2018. Web. Accessed 28 November 28, 2018.
[54] “US mid-term election results 2018: Maps, charts and analysis.” BBC News. 8 November 2018. Web. Accessed 27 November 2018.
[55] “Fourth National Climate Assessment.” U.S. Global Change Research Program. 2018. Web Accessed 7 December 2018 from https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/
[56] Ibid 55.
[57] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 °C.” The United Nations. 8 October 2018. Web. Accessed 10 December 2018 from https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
[58] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “CDC Director’s Media Statement on U.S. Life Expectancy.” Media Statement. 29 November 2018. Web. Accessed 3 December 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/s1129-US-life-expectancy.html
[59] National Center for Health Statistics. “Mortality in the United States, 2017.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 2018. Web. Accessed 3 December 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm
[60] National Center for Health Statistics. “Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2017.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 2018. Web. Accessed 3 December 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db329.htm
[61] National Center for Health Statistics. “Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999–2017.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. November 2018. Web. Accessed 3 December 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db330.htm
[62] Mental Health America. “Access to Care Data 2018.” 2018. Web. Accessed 4 December 2018 from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/mental-health-america-access-care-data-2018
[63] Rob Picheta. “Spain to lead Japan in global life expectancy, US continues to slide.” CNN. 18 October 2018. Web. Accessed 4 December 2018 from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/17/health/life-expectancy-forecasts-study-intl/index.html
[64] “Senators vote to end US backing for Saudi war on Yemen.” BBC News. 14 December 2018. Web. Accessed 28 December 2018.