Photo by Markus Spiske via Uplash.

It’s been almost two months since President Donald Trump was inaugurated, and the United States has already experienced drastic changes. From pulling out of the World Health Organization to changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name, America’s new president has made interesting modifications to the country as a whole. However, one of the most notable of these orders is the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. 

The European Bank defines the Paris Climate Agreement as an international treaty that aims to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” Trump’s abandonment of this agreement was predicted during his first presidency in 2017 when he stated that the U.S. would eventually leave the treaty. However, even though this decision was viewed as a foreseen circumstance, there are still concerns about what this means for Americans battling climate change. 

An article published by The New York Times, “Yes, There Has Been Progress on Climate. No, It’s Not Nearly Enough,” says that scientists believe that more drastic action is needed to keep global temperature at a safer increased limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius. In the same article, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, stated “we really don’t have much time left to shift course.” By most scientific accounts, the world is reaching the  point of no return regarding the global climate, but is it an active emergency? Many climate activists and scientific experts say yes. 

CEO of the European Climate Foundation, Laurence Tubiana, says, “The impacts of the climate crisis are also worsening.” He follows this by discussing the wildfires sweeping across Los Angeles and how America withdrawing from the exchange was unfortunate. However, he also says not to worry because the effort to slow climate change “is stronger than any country’s politics and policies.” 

While this might sound scary to Americans, solutions are still being explored to help the country slow climate change. In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, former CEO and chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates writes that the best way forward is to lower the Green Premiums. Green Premiums refer to the difference in cost between carbon-emitting products and non-carbon-emitting products. Therefore, if America wants to see a difference in its carbon emissions, it must focus on lowering prices and adopting healthier, greener technology. 

Pulling out of the Paris Climate Exchange has been criticized by both sides of the political spectrum. However, President Trump stands behind his actions as he did back in 2017 when he stated, “The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries…” With this statement and the country’s leadership, it’s up to the American people to decide if they are up against a climate challenge or a crisis. 

The Hilltop Monitor thanks Dr. Gary Armstrong for providing insight and sources to help further the exploration of the topic at hand.

It has been an interesting week for U.S. democracy. In the last fourteen days, U.S. lawmakers have averted a government shutdown. Currently, the Biden administration is discussing how it wants to address a surprise attack in Israel from the terrorist organization Hamas.  

All of this, and the U.S. House of Representatives does not have a Speaker to assist. A Speaker of the House has not been ousted in America’s history. So, what happened? 

Budgeting 101

In order to answer this, we must examine the U.S. budget, which is passed by the Congress every year. Congress must pass all federal funding budgets, which are typically valid for a certain length of time. This process is often done yearly. Congress can also pass short-term funding bills, typically called continuing resolutions or CR, which will fund the government for anywhere between a week and a couple months. If a funding bill expires and a new one is not put in place, the government is not being funded. This means the government cannot pay its employees or maintain any federally-controlled lands, although essential employees can continue to work; such a time is often referred to as a government shutdown. 

On Sept. 29, the House of Representatives passed a CR with broad bipartisan support. However, some Republicans, among them Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), had promised to introduce a motion to vacate the office of now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) if a CR passed.  

Removal of the Speaker 

On Oct. 2, Gaetz filed his promised motion to vacate. When the motion came to a vote, all Democrats joined eight Republicans in voting to remove McCarthy. Those eight Republicans were Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Elijah Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Matthew M. Rosendale (Mont.). 

After the motion to vacate succeeded, Gaetz claimed, “Kevin McCarthy is a creature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever now.” 

The successful vote means that the House is currently lacking an elected speaker. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) has been named interim speaker while the search takes place. 

Implications 

This leaves the Republican party with a leadership crisis. The Republican margin in the House is currently five votes, which means that five Republicans can defeat any measure if all Democrats oppose it. As such, this leaves radical Republicans with an outsized influence.  

Many Republicans are furious with Gaetz, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for Gaetz’s removal from the Republican conference. Joseph Postell, professor of political science at Hillsdale College, said that these legislators sought to gain outside media influence. Postell told the Washington Post that “[House Republicans] are no longer incentivized to bargain with one another. They are incentivized to remain in conflict.” 

What will become of the Republican Party in 2024 and beyond is yet to be seen. But this episode will give us a picture of how Republicans choose to address a leadership crisis, and may show us how they will choose to handle Donald Trump. House Republicans are trying to show America that they can effectively govern in the leadup to the 2024 election; in the days to come, we will see Republicans try to govern their own.

On Monday morning at 9:54 a.m. on Mar. 27, 2023, The Covenant School, a Nashville Christian elementary school, was targeted by an active shooter. Three employees, Katherine Koonce (head of the school, aged 60), Mike Hill (custodian, aged 61), and Cynthia Peak (substitute teacher, aged 61), and three nine-year-old students, Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, were shot and killed before the shooter was stopped and killed by police.

Police released six minutes of police body camera footage and two minutes of security camera footage. The event spanned at most 15 minutes. 

The shooter was identified as 28-year-old transgender man Aidan Hale, previously known as Audrey Hale, a former student at The Covenant School.

A message Hale sent at 9:57 a.m. to a former classmate, Averianna Patton, stated, “I’m planning to die today. You’ll probably hear about me on the news after I die.” After another message ominously stating “something bad is about to happen,” Patton called the Suicide Prevention Help Line and the Nashville Police.

Shortly after, Hale was seen through security camera footage breaking into the elementary school with three guns: A KelTec SUB200, a semi-automatic rifle; an M&P 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a grunt rifle.

At 10:13 am, Nashville police were notified of the shooter threat. At 10:26 am, the officers and Hale exchanged gunfire, then confirmed that the shooter had died.

Though Nashville police and the FBI have gone through writings and documents left by Hale, a motive for the shooting remains undisclosed for the time being. What is known, however, is that the shooting was planned for many months and that Hale studied the actions of other mass murderers.

Immediately following this tragedy came many protests and walk-outs that took place outside the state capitol demanding more restrictive gun control legislation. In recent years, Tennessee’s government has loosened gun laws in the state, such as lowering the minimum age to carry handguns to 18. This legislative change took place the same day as the shooting. 

As a response to the protests, Governor Bill Lee and state lawmakers decided to add more funding to schools for mental health resources, armed security guards and an extension to the state’s homeland security network to include public and private schools.

Although this might contribute to lowering rates of gun violence in schools, the state government has yet to add any restrictions to gun policy in Tennessee this year.

To donate to survivors of the shooting, please visit https://www.cfmt.org/story/support-survivors-of-the-covenant-school-shooting/