Things you need to know this week: Obama seals the Iran Deal, Syrian toddler’s death renews public outcry against war, county Clerk Kim Davis jailed after refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, Biden admits that he may be too emotionally drained to run for presidency .
1. Obama seals Iran Deal
Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her support of the Iran deal on Wednesday, securing the final vote needed for President Obama to veto any Republican-sponsored resolutions designed to reject the Iran Deal. The Iran deal is set and will go forward.
“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime” Mikulski said in a statement. However, she believes it is the “best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb.”
Several GOP presidential candidates vehemently attack the Iran deal. Senator Maco Rubio states, “When I’m president of the United States, we will re-impose those sanctions on day one.”
2. Death of Syrian toddler’s death renews public outcry against war
The haunting photograph of three-year old Aylan Kurdi’s dead body sprawled on the shore face down has been viewed by millions around the world. Kurdi, along along with his older brother and mother, drowned at sea while attempting to flee to Greece. A total of 12 people on Wednesday as the boat capsized after leaving Turkey. The father of this little boy was one of the few survivors, but has lost his entire family at sea.
This tragedy put renewed pressure on leaders to more adequately handle the migration crisis in Europe due to so many Syrians fleeing the war.
3. County Clerk Kim Davis jailed after refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses
Kentucky’s county clerk Kim Davis was sent to jail on Thursday after denying same-sex couples their marriage license. She also denied the proposal to allow her deputies to issue these licenses, which would have prompted her release.
Ms. Davis’ lawyer Roger Gannam stated, “Today, for the first time in history, an American citizen has been incarcerated for having the belief of conscience that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.”
In the hearing, Judge Bunning made the decision. “The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” he said.
4. Biden admits that he may be too emotionally drained to run for presidency
“I will be straightforward with you. The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run,” Biden stated at his speech in Atlanta. “Some might think that is not appropriate. But unless I can go to my party and the American people and say that I am able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate.”
Joe Biden’s son, Beau, had died earlier this year in May due to brain cancer. Biden has also suffered tremendous losses when his wife and his daughter were killed in a car accident shortly after Biden was elected as Senate in 1972.
