5 Things You Need to Know This Week

From House of Cards to Jerusalem protests, here's what you need to know this week.
NETFLIX
NETFLIX

 

1. House of Cards Final Season

 

Netflix recently confirmed that the production of the final season of House of Cards will continue but without Kevin Spacey. Robin Wright will assume lead position and finish off the series. We’re not even mad about it, Robin Wright does a killer job playing #girlboss Claire Underwood and it’s such a great metaphor for what’s been happening in the media with sexual harassment and assault (ahem, Kevin Spacey). Now Claire was always superior to Frank and now she can hold the stage front and center. Pauline Micelli, MRC’s senior vice president of television business and legal affairs, stated that the production is bigger than one person and the show can go on with the remaining loyal actors and production crew. The final season will consist of eight episodes giving fans closure on what was once everyone’s favourite Netflix and Chill pick.

 

 

2. Kim K vs T Swift

 

The bad blood between the two celebrities erupted in full force after Kim Kardashian posted a throwback snap of Swift’s naked wax lookalike from Kanye West’s controversial Famous art exhibit from 2016. She captioned the photo “Famous.” In a hot second, Taylor Swift loyal fans we’re on Kim K filling her comments with rat emojis. Taylor herself came back not even 24 hours later with a shot from her new Vogue shoot with the caption, “I never trust a narcissist. But they love me…” Although Taylor and Kanye have been at war since 2009, Kim and Taylor’s feud only recently started in 2016 after the Famous lyric’s phone call situation, where Kim released a recording of a call between Kayne and Taylor saying she was okay with Kanye’s lyrics about her. As we know, she swears she doesn’t love the drama, it loves her and we aren’t complaining.

 

VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

 

3. California Wildfires

 

Wildfires are out of control in Los Angeles as the State tries to keep them under control. More evacuations were called today after sustained winds pushed the fire farther last night. Winds near Ventura, CA are blowing at 66 miles per hour with gusts as high as 88 miles per hour. 120,000 people have already been evacuated and now more are being forced to flee their homes. The Thomas Fire is the largest of the fires, currently the size of Denver, and there seems to be no end in sight.  Raging winds on today, combined with low humidity and dry areas could start new fires. As of Thursday morning, there have been no reported deaths due to the fire. Live updates are being reported as the fires continue to rage.

 

AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX

 

4. Trump and Jerusalem 

 

On Wednesday, President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to relocate the US Embassy there. Trump’s decision upended seven decades of US foreign policy to resist named Jerusalem the capital before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. Although the decision caused outrage, he assured that this won’t shift US policy on the final boundaries of future Israeli and Palestinian states. He also stated the US is deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement between the two sides. The move by Trump ignited protests in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Any peace that was in process has now been crushed as the protests get violent. The leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has called for a new “intifada,” or uprising.

 

 

5. Flu Vaccine Effectiveness

 

A study from Australia was released earlier this week stating that this year’s flu vaccine may only be 10% effective against the predominant strain. The same vaccine they use in Australia that the study refers to is the same one we use here in North America. Strain-specific vaccines are needed in influenza prevention and epidemic control. It’s recommended by the World Health Organization that vaccine updates happen every February in the Northern Hemisphere and every September in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s too early right now to know the current vaccine effectiveness in Alberta, but they will release numbers soon. As to getting your flu shot, Alberta’s Health Minister says it’s still safer to be vaccinated than not at all.

 


 

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