5 Things that happened last week
Week of Jan. 15, 2016
January 18, 2016
- Two U.S. Navy boats carrying 10 sailors were within three miles of Iran’s Farsi Island when they were seized by Iranians. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said that a navigational error put the sailors off course, and that the Americans were freed after 16 hours.
- After President Obama’s final State of the Union address on Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan made clear that some of the president’s comments degrade the presidency. “Speaking up for our values and speaking up for our beliefs is one thing,” Ryan said. “But kind of wading into the primary politics of the other party is just not really what presidents ought to do.
- The stock market is off to one of its worst starts to a year in history, as stocks continued to plummet on Friday. Investor’s anxiety has been due largely in part to falling oil prices and China’s weakening economy.
- The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg polls released Thursday show Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gaining on Hillary Clinton, now only two points behind the former Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ted Cruz is closing the gap in the polls between himself and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. The Iowa caucus takes place on Feb. 1.
- Member of the Michigan National Guard arrived in Flint this week to aid the city and is residents, many of whom have led-contaminated tap water. The city switched its water supply in 2014 from Detroit Water’s Lake Huron source to the Flint River.
