On Monday, April 15, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris exploded into flames after 850 years of standing, and left the hearts of many in dismay. The Cathedral has been a symbol of courage and faith for many believers, and an image of art and culture for countless observers. The cause of the fire has still yet to be identified, however, a French prosecutor has publicly stated that he believes the incident to be accidental. In the midst of tremendous devastation, pieces within the Cathedral that embody the spirit of the Church survived. Among these were the historic rose windows as well as the Great Organ, both pieces dating back to the Middle Ages. In the face of turmoil, French President Emmanuel Macron has provided optimism and hope. He has stated that he plans on having the Cathedral rebuilt within the next 5 years. In response to this, hundreds of thousands of donors around the world have offered their resources to see this proclamation come to fulfillment, with over 700 million dollars pledged for donation.
Early Thursday morning, April 17, Attorney General William Barr released a redacted version of Mueller’s report to the public. However, before doing this, Barr held a press conference delineating his views on the report and what it directly entails. In this statement, Barr again reintroduced his conclusion of no obstruction of justice or collusion. However, recent findings within the report indicate that the Mueller’s findngs may be more complicated than Barr’s. In the report, Mueller stated that Trump attempted to interfere in the election, but was unsuccessful in doing so as his aides refused to take action. With this being said, it is likely that further investigations will take place into Trump’s actions, according to CNN. “The special counsel report rejected the Trump team’s legal argument that a President cannot commit obstruction of justice, leaving the door open for Congress to continue to investigate Trump.”
Attorney General William Barr has recently involved himself in a new issue: immigration. Barr has recently made a decision to further increase the administration’s hardline view on immigration. Barr has recently made the decision that asylum-seekers who feel credible fears in their home country cannot be released on bond while their cases are sorted out. This could directly impact our border, leading to the holding of some immigrants indefinitely. This move will likely affect thousands of immigrants being held, and will be used as a deterrent for future immigrants. Groups opposed to this decision are already unifying against Barr, including American Civil Liberties Union leading the way with a soon to come court hearing.
