Ferguson protests
Protesters flooded the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, demanding justice for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and the police officer who fatally shot him. Following the shooting, members of the Ferguson peacefully protested for over two weeks, but unrest escalated when police forces began using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. The shooting has spurred national debates about racial profiling and police brutality. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have committed to conduct an investigation related to the shooting.
California drought
According to government officials, California has lost 63 trillion gallons of water in the past 18 months. Water levels in lakes and reservoirs have reached historic lows. The dire water situation has been compounded to unusual heat and record-low rainfalls. With thousands losing their jobs in the agricultural sector and food prices skyrocketing, California’s agricultural business remains to be the biggest victim of the drought. California lawmakers recently sent a package of bills to Governor Jerry Brown; if approved, these bills will allow the state to begin regulating the groundwater supply for the first time.
Ebola outbreak
An epidemic of the Ebola virus has affected five countries in West Africa. With 1,552 deaths confirmed by the World Health Organization, the 2014 outbreak has been marked as one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history. Odds of survival stand at about 50-50; however, two American aid workers were the first patients to be successfully treated for the Ebola virus in the United States. Although there isn’t a cure or vaccine for Ebola, a number of experimental drugs are currently under study such as ZMapp and TKM-Ebola.
Iraq crisis
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, and it has been labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the United Nations. ISIS’s mission is to create an Islamic state governed by a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law; however, ISIS bears no mercy to those who stand in its way. ISIS has ransacked towns and villages in Iraq, making sweeping territorial gains. They also brutally massacred religious minorities. In response to this, the U.S. deployed air strikes against ISIS; tens of thousands of Iraqi Yazidis were successfully evacuated after seeking refuge in the Sinjar Mountains.
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