Trump Backs Stem Tech Initiative

The Trump administration unveiled a new program this week intending to boost education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), with a particular focus on computer science and coding.

The program, which focuses on increasing opportunities for women and minorities, will be part of the Department of Education's allocation of at least $200 million per year in grant funds to the STEM and computer science fields. It is part of the Trump administration’s effort to train workers for the jobs of the future.

Learn more here.

Graham-Cassidy Done

Senate Republicans threw in the towel on their efforts to bring the Graham-Cassidy bill to a vote. The Graham-Cassidy plan was a last-ditch effort to get Obamacare repealed before a September 30th deadline, which changes the requirements needed to pass legislation from 50 votes to 62.

The latest bill would have repealed the Affordable Care Act mandates that require most Americans to have health insurance. It also would have ended the expansion of Medicaid benefits to more poor adults. 

Perhaps this latest outcome will force a more bipartisan approach to health care reform and cause both side will come together to solve this. We can dream, can't we?

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Emails Again?

Six White House officials, including Jared Kushner, have been found to have used private emails accounts for government business. In addition to Mr. Kushner, Stephen K. Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, Gary D. Cohn, and Stephen Miller, were have said to have sent or received emails on personal accounts. 

This issue proves to be embarrassing to the Trump administration because over the course of the 2016 presidential race, Mr. Trump repeatedly accused Hillary Clinton of being untrustworthy and dishonest for her use of a private account as Secretary of State. 

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Alabama Election Has Our Attention

Judge Roy Moore defeated Luther Strange in the Republican primary for Senator in the red state of Alabama. Strange lost despite being backed by the President and supported with $10 million that a Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC poured into the race. The general election, which takes place in December, is to replace Senator Jeff Sessions, who left the seat to become President Trump’s Attorney General. 

Learn more here.

Can a Tweet Start a War?

Twitter was on fire as usual after president Trump tweeted in response to a speech by North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong-ho at the United Nations on Sunday. Trump's tweet stated, "if he echoes thoughts of the Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer."

Many users called on Twitter to suspend the President's account for violating the social network’s rule that states users “may not make threats of violence or promote violence.”  Twitter defended itself arguing that the tweets were “newsworthy” even though they appeared to be violent threats. “We hold all accounts to the same rules, and consider a number of factors when assessing whether tweets violate our rules,” the tweet said. “Among the considerations is ‘newsworthiness’ and whether a Tweet is of public interest.”

Read more here.