Wednesday Scoop: Searching for a Separation Solution
Welcome to the Morning Scoop for June 20, 2018. We’ve got the latest on the immigration debate, an unpopular decision at the UN, and a very interesting food startup.
Yesterday, our team of student journalists had “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, those AP classes you took in high school, and Greta Van Fleet on their minds.
Who can Change the Family Separation Policy?
The Trump administration’s family separation policy continues to dominate major headlines this morning, and lawmakers are scrambling for solutions. President Trump laid the blame squarely on the Democrats, tweeting, “They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13.”
Increasing numbers of Republican lawmakers are asking the president to end the “zero tolerance” policy and reports say his daughter Ivanka privately made the same request.
Federal officials estimate 2,300 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border between May 5 and June 9.
US out of UN Human Rights Council
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that the US will be leaving the UN Human Rights Council, claiming the council is biased against US ally Israel and does not hold human rights violators accountable.
Haley was a major critique of the council, stating that it had grown colder over the past year and become a “protector of human rights abusers and a cesspool of political bias.”
The UN expressed disappointment in the decision and a dozen charitable groups immediately condemned the move. CMN Senior Correspondent Erin Whitten has more details in her report.
Never Waste an Avocado Again?
A startup backed by Bill Gates called Apeel Sciences (see what they did there?) uses food waste and other plant material to create a product that helps fresh fruits and vegetables stay ripe longer, potentially decreasing the amount of food waste.
This new technology will debut an avocado that stays ripe for twice as long in about 100 grocery stores in the Midwest, including more than 30 Costco locations. Gigi Foster has more details in her CMN report.
Today in a Tweet: World Refugee Day
Last But Not Least: A Lesson in Juneteenth
CMN’s spent some time yesterday pondering the importance of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day Texas freed their slaves in 1865.
She writes, “this day is used to celebrate how far black Americans have come and celebrating all our ancestors sacrificed.”
Wednesday’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Natalia Kolenko, Jessica Watson,
