Through the holidays and the upsets, we have made it to another Friday. Harriet Tubman was honored as the world remembered her amazing achievements on the anniversary of her death, and this week we lost another musical legend, George Martin. It can be hard to keep up with everything that's going on, so here are some highlights we think you will like!
I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Bromance
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, met with President Obama in Washington to talk about repairing the US-Canada relationship. The future looks bright for this new relationship, and the meme game looks strong. The Internet couldn’t help but take advantage of pictures from the event that have the PM staring longingly at the President. To ignite it even more, the PM tweeted, “There is no relationship in the world quite like the Canada-US relationship,” with a photo collage of him and the President. First step, create peace between the two countries. Next step, make a buddy cop series for Netflix.
Who Run The World: Girls!
It’s safe to say that most women around the world spent a day this week chanting Beyonce songs. Why? Because Tuesday was International Women’s Day! All across social media women and men were showing their support for female equality and empowerment. Celebrities and fans voiced their hopes for a stronger tomorrow. Snapchat compiled a snapstory for the event and created a photo tag specifically commemorating the day. Some issues that were highlighted were unequal pay, unequal job opportunities, embedded sexism in society, rape culture, and the right to education. Check out this amazing photoset of women celebrating around the world.
Heatocalypse
It was reported this week that the combination of El Nino and man-made climate change has caused this winter to be the hottest in US history. Normally, the national average in the lower 48 is 32.2 degrees Fahrenheit, but this year it rose to 36.8. What’s the opposite of snowmageddon? Heatocalypse? With just a 4.6 degree increase, there’s still no excuse for that guy in your office to continue to wear his salmon shorts. That is, unless you work in Alaska, which saw a whopping 10.6 degree increase. These reports go all the way back to 1895 and the last time the US hit an overall winter heat record was in 1999-2000.
Sharapova Throws Up Deuces
A new scandal has hit the sports world. Tennis star Maria Sharapova announced she failed a drug test that was conducted when a new list of substances were banned this past January. She is the highest paid female athlete and is currently seeded number 7 in the world. Throughout her career she has reached the 1 spot and won 5 grand slam titles. The drug that has been brought into question is mildronate, which is used to increase the amount of oxygen brought to the body’s muscles. This is helpful if you have ischaemia and also if you’re an athlete looking to enhance your performance. It’s illegal in most parts of the world, but in Russia, which is the country she plays for, it is kept mainstream. Sponsors like Nike are already suspending their contracts with her and the International Tennis Federation has her provisionally suspended from the sport until a decision can be made about her future. Right now she faces a 4-year ban, but because this is her first offense and the drug was on the list under a different name, she may get a reduced sentence.
Law & Order: Hamiltome Unit
All the fans of the hit Broadway show Hamilton are rejoicing because they no longer have to wait 5 years to get exclusive access to the show. An audiobook is currently in development by the grand master himself, Lin-Manuel Miranda. In addition to the story, it will go into great detail about the early stages of the musical’s creation and how the idea became a reality. The biggest announcement so far came out this week when Olivia Benson, I mean Mariska Hargitay, said she will be lending her voice to the audiobook. The main reasoning behind this is that she encapsulates a particular essence of New York that they want to harness. It also doesn't hurt that she has a giant fan following. No matter what, we're excited to gain another piece of this musical puzzle.
Now that you're all caught up on the big headlines from the week, you can feel confident that your weekend will have minimal awkward silences! Happy Friday everyone and meet us back here next Friday for another weekly recap.
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