The Roundup with Isa Harrison: Volume 1, Issue 8

Drink bottled water, officials tell Ohio town hit by toxic train crash and EPA orders Norfolk Southern to clean up Ohio train derailment site and pay all costs

Although the train derailment in Ohio happened on February 3rd, the environmental effects of the chemical spill in the air, soil, and water are still ongoing. Officials said it was safe to return to the area shortly after the spill, but residents are concerned due to fish and chickens dying near the spill. Ohio officials are sending mixed signals as well, saying to drink bottled water, but than changing this stance later. 20 out of the 50 cars derailed contained dangerous chemicals that spilled into the environment. 

Biden speaks in Poland after surprise trip to Ukraine: ‘Kyiv stands strong’

In Biden’s speech he gave in Poland after his visit to Kiev he clearly stated commitment to Ukraine and support of NATO. Showing support for Ukraine may be noble, but it’s also risky. Putin just announced Russia would be withdrawing from the START nuclear arms treaty, which is a treaty regulating the amount of nuclear arms and missiles countries can have. This public withdrawal may be meant to be seen as a threat. As Putin gets more desperate in Ukraine, NATO members might have to tread carefully. 

Five things to know about the Supreme Court case that could change the internet

In the case Gonzalez v. Google, Youtube is being accused of using its content recommendation algorithms to inadvertently cause the death of U.S. citizen Nohemi Gonzalez. Section 203 of the Communications Decency Act reads, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” Although tech companies aren’t considered the “speaker” of the contentment, this case will decide if they are liable for dangerous algorithms. 

North Korea launches more missiles as Kim sister warns Pacific could become ‘firing range’

North Korea fired two more test missiles yesterday, which prompted the South Korean government to respond saying that a North Korean nuclear threat will encourage South Korea to get nuclear weapons of their own. There were US-Korean and US-Japanese joint exercises on Sunday. Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong said that, “The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces’ action character.” As if to say ‘no you first’ towards ceasing military exercises. North Korea is still there, and US allies in the Indo-Pacific are looking to the US for defense. Foreign policy choices going forward will have an effect on proliferation in the area.  

Blinken and China’s top diplomat spar over spy balloon incident in Munich meeting

In the first meeting after the balloon incident between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, Wang did not apologize for the balloon. Instead Wang criticized the United State’s excessive use of force, and asked the US to recognize what the destruction of the balloon has done to US-China relations. Blinken warned this invasion of US airspace must never be done again.