Local
A new settlement has been reached between Rhode Island state officials and 38 Studios totaling $2.5 million. The state has been working since 2012 to recoup its losses from its loans to the now-defunct 38 Studios, founded by former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, after the video game company went bankrupt and defaulted on state-issued bonds.
On Monday, Rhode Island state officials and law enforcement began a week-long event to promote awareness of opioid abuse. The event is part of a national effort, The National Heroin and Opioid Awareness week, which is intended to draw attention to the widespread issue of prescription drug abuse and the illegal drug abuse it can lead to. The event also called attention to a rise in overdose deaths in recent years in Rhode Island, due to fentanyl, a synthetic drug often used to lace heroin. The state has previously passed legislation to combat this epidemic, as recently as July of 2016, in order to limit opioid prescriptions.
National
Samsung is still dealing with the fallout from its recall of the Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone. The recall was issued formally by the federal Consumer Product Safety commission after widespread concern arose over the phones exploding or catching on fire due to a critical battery failure. After more than 2 million Note 7 phones have already been sold, Samsung will need to pay to either refund or replace them, which the company estimates could cost up to a billion dollars.
According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, the United States accidentally allowed over 800 immigrants to become citizens. All of these immigrants, the DHS reported, were from countries of “special interest” which generally indicates a concern for national security. The mistake came as a result of the lack of proper electronic fingerprint records for these immigrants after they had applied using different personal information, such as their date of birth. The DHS also stated in the report that these cases are being reviewed.
Global
After an attack on United Nations vehicles delivering aid in Syria, the UN has officially decided to suspend all aid to the nation. As a result of the attack, many of the supplies that the UN convoy was delivering were destroyed, and nearly 20 civilians were killed. The attack, which took place on Monday, came in spite of the current ceasefire in effect between the Syrian Government and rebel forces. It is still unknown who perpetrated the attack, but both the Syrian and Russian governments have claimed that they were not responsible.
The United Russia party, led by current Russian president Vladimir Putin, has prevailed in parliamentary elections, taking just over 54 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was around 47 percent, which is a significant drop from 2011’s parliamentary election with 60 percent voter turnout. After the election’s conclusion, the United Russia Party will take 343 out of 450 seats, the Communist Party will hold 42, the Liberal Democratic Party will have 39 and the A Just Russia Party will finish with 23. The election was a significant statistical victory for United Russia, gaining 105 seats and finishing with 76 percent of all seats in the Russian Parliament.