Beyond the Bricks: Week of 09/23

Pelosi Pursues Trump

According to the Washington Post, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced on Sept. 24, 2019 that she is moving forward on an official impeachment inquiry for President Donald Trump.

Pelosi was quoted as saying, "The actions of the Trump presidency have revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections."

These claims accuse Trump of seeking help from a foreign leader, in this instance the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to harm or damage the reputation of a political opponent.

The Washington Post also stated that given the current divided state of the country, many political officials are concerned that this action may further polarize the nation.

In response to this, Trump took to Twitter where he claimed “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”

The White House responded quickly to these claims by announcing plans to release documents detailing Trump’s interaction with the Ukrainian president. As more information is being brought into the investigation, Trump and Pelosi are both facing criticism: Pelosi for her confrontation and Trump for the accusations.

London Floods

Flash flooding and heavy rains are causing major travel problems across England, according to BBC. Flood warning and alerts have been sent out by the Environment Agency in England urging residents to find shelter and prepare for more flooding that is likely to come. The agency is also issuing live updates online that track the location and severity of the floods.

Many major roadways are facing heavy delays and closures due to the sporadic nature of the flooding. Areas such as Liverpool are facing such severe cases of flash flooding that vehicles are being stranded, thus adding to traffic issues.

The downpours are results of massive low-pressure systems sweeping over the United Kingdom. These pressure systems are merging with the remaining winds from Hurricane Humberto and bringing massive rains with them.

The hope is that the rains will clear within the week and that the stranded cars will soon follow suit.

Mosquito-Related Deaths in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, there has been a fourth death due to Eastern Equine Encephalitis; this brings the total number of deaths to 10 across the nation. The disease, commonly referred to as EEE, is transmitted by mosquitoes and deaths have occurred in Michigan, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The mosquitoes carry the virus from horses to humans. There is a vaccine to deal with horses infected with the virus; however, there is no human equivalent for treatment. EEE has a 30 percent mortality rate in humans.

Following this most recent case, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health took action and has labeled 46 communities as being at high risk of possible transmission. Thirty-five more are at critical risk and 122 are at moderate risk. In this year alone, there has been an increase of cases in 30 different states.

According to CNN, people of all ages are at risk. That being said, children under the age of 15 should take extra care. The state of Massachusetts is taking action by increasing how often they are aerial spraying pesticides. Additionally, they hope that the frost of winter will cut down on the populations of virus-carrying mosquitoes.