This week in the news: Gov. Chris Christie endorses Trump, ceasefire in Syria to begin Saturday night, Apple CEO Tim Cook says iPhone-cracking software ‘equivalent of cancer’, and abortion clinics are closing at a record pace.
Gov. Chris Christie endorses Trump
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced his support for Donald Trump on Friday, which will be a strong move for Trump’s campaign leading into the Super Tuesday election coming up. Christie stated that he and Trump had been friends for a long time, assuring people that “Donald Trump is someone who when he makes a promise, he keeps it.”
Super Tuesday is the biggest day for presidential candidates to receive delegates, as 10 states will be holding primaries (Alabama, Arkansas, Gerogia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia).
Ceasefire in Syria to begin Saturday night
Russia and the U.S. have agreed to a cease hostilities in Syria, which will go into effect Feb. 27 at midnight. The truce does not include terrorists groups like ISIS or Nusra. The agreement allows humanitarian aid to be delivered to areas that have been under siege by government forces.
Already, over 700,000 people have died in the five year war, and 11 million have been displaced, creating one of the largest refugee crises of our time.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Says iPhone-Cracking Software ‘Equivalent of Cancer’
Apple CEO Tim Cook told “World News Tonight” that the U.S. government was asking them to create software that allows the FBI to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters – and compared this to the “software equivalent of cancer.”
The FBI attempted to crack the pass code but failed because Apple phone systems have a function that automatically erases the access key and renders the phone “permanently inaccessible” after 10 failed attempts.
A federal judge told Apple to assist law enforcement. Nonetheless, they refused and swore to fight the order, igniting a battle between federal authorities and Silicon Valley. Cook called the issue “complex” but said the creation of the software would put hundreds of millions of customers at risk and “trample” civil liberties.
Abortion Clinics Are Closing at a Record Pace
Abortion access in the U.S. has been decreasing at the fastest yearly pace on record, driven by Republican state lawmakers’ efforts to legislate the industry out of business. Since 2011, at least 162 abortion providers have closed or stopped giving the procedure, while only 21 opened. State regulations that make it too expensive or difficult for facilities to stay open drove more than a quarter of the closings. Industry merging, changing demographics, and a drop in demand were also behind the decrease, in addition to doctor retirements and crackdowns on unqualified providers.
